The Polish composer Henryk Górecki spent almost his entire life and career in southern Poland, discouraged from pursuing music by his father, poorly paid as a teacher, unable to obtain manuscript paper on which to compose and at odds with the country's communist regime.
Yet he managed to compose remarkable music for four decades and to produce, with his Third Symphony, one of the most popular contemporary classical recordings in the 20th century. The ensuing fame and fortune did nothing to change him.
Born in the coal mining area of Upper Silesia, Henryk Mikolaj Górecki was the son of a railway station employee. His mother died when he was two; he was plagued by bad health all his life and would say, "I talked with death often".
His late mother was a pianist but he was not allowed to use her piano, although he was permitted lessons. By the early 1950s he was teaching and studying music in Rybnik. At this time he began to compose.
Study followed under Boleslaw Szabelski, a former student of the great Karol Szymanowski. He wrote his First Symphony in 1959, graduated in 1960 and spent the last three months of 1961 in Paris, where he was influenced by Pierre Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen and met Olivier Messiaen. The folk tradition of his beloved Tatra Mountains inspired the pared-down Three Pieces in Old Style and Old Polish Music and became an abiding influence. His Second Symphony (Copernican), in Latin, marked the 500th anniversary of the astronomer's birth.
In 1972, he became rector of his old school in Katowice and in 1977 was made professor of the State Higher School there, although he was often as odds with the authorities. The year before he had composed his Third Symphony (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs). Likened to the work of Sir John Tavener and Arvo Pärt, it was a radical departure for the dissonant dissident. It was an extended elegiac lament in three movements. The style was one of harmonious minimalism. The hypnotic ebb and flow of the music and the repetitive lulling words of the soprano produced a powerfully moving work.
In 1992, it was recorded by the London Sinfonietta under David Zinman with the American soprano Dawn Upshaw, and was a sensation. It went to No 6 on the mainstream music charts in Britain and sold more than a million copies, becoming one of the biggest sellers of classical music of all time.
Górecki had resigned his rectorship in 1979 in protest against the authorities' refusal to allow Pope John Paul II to visit Katowice.
The success of the symphony meant he could buy a much-dreamed-of Mercedes and a house in the mountains. "A day away from Katowice, where I write, is a day wasted," he said.
Ill health prevented him completing his Fourth Symphony. He is survived by his wife, Jadwiga, a son and a daughter.
Born December 6, 1933; died November 12, 2010
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
The specs
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THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
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Bookshops: A Reader's History by Jorge Carrión (translated from the Spanish by Peter Bush),
Biblioasis
Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
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The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
The specs
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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