November 19, 8:00 pm
November 20, 6:00 pm
First Pres Santa Monica

Henryk Gorecki (on the first anniversary of his death)
  Four Preludes Op. 1 (1955)
  Quartet No. 2 "Quasi una Fantasia," Op. 64 (1991)
  Quartet No. 1 "Already it is Dusk," Op.62 (1988)
  Kleines Requiem für eine Polka Op. 66 (Little Requiem for a Polka, 1993)      
                                               
Mark Robson, piano
Calder Quartet
Lyris Quartet
Jacaranda Chamber Orchestra
Mark Alan Hilt, conductor

In the annals of popular culture, Gorecki's Symphony of Sorrowful Songs is the unprecedented chart-busting Classical crossover hit of all time. Yet, the Polish composer was exceedingly private. Each work distils his personal intensity without losing the tragic longing and wry humor evident in the films, theatre and literature — in the national character of Poland. One year after his death, this evocative program brings together early piano music with two strikingly different string quartets. The first is a one-movement tone poem, the second a four-part journey. A unique instrumental requiem closes the celebration with the haunted serenity that is Gorecki's trademark, as well as brash drama, a sense of absurdity and his fervent spirit of consolation.