# Gorecki Symphony No. 3 Recordings



## cello suite (Jul 31, 2018)

What is your favorite rendition of this masterful work?

Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra? The London Sinfonietta?

Or some other?


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## julide (Jul 24, 2020)

What's the point... i don't think any other performance will reveal anything about such a barren work.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

I favor the London Sinfonietta with Dawn Upshaw on Nonesuch - scrumptious all-around. However, I've enjoyed every performance heard.


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## Ekim the Insubordinate (May 24, 2015)

I am quite happy with my recording by Takuo Yuasa leading the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra on ABC Classics.


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## Granate (Jun 25, 2016)

It's surprising that such a divisive symphony (it's very difficult to leave you indifferent) has no recording thread.

For the firmly classical tradition and genuine Polish, I own and recommend the Antoni Wit CD (with other great minimalistic short pieces).

If you can tolerate non-operatic voices on microphone, the Penderecki and Beth Gibbons recording is a landmark for its sound quality and arresting emotions brought up by the orchestra and especially the singer.


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## bluto32 (Apr 25, 2015)

I have the Zinman/Upshaw and Wit/Kilanowicz already mentioned in this thread and think they are both absolutely excellent. I also got Kord/Koslowska on Decca a while back, but don't like the soprano's voice as much.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

London Sinfonietta with Dawn Upshaw on Nonesuch.


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## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

I bonded early with Upshaw/Zinman/London Sinfonietta. I'll be listening to it for the rest of my life. 

That being said I am trying to branch out and hear some other recordings... and there are many of them. Wit on Naxos I'm sure is excellent; I was just thinking of buying a copy. I have Beth Gibbons w/ Penderecki and the Polish National RSO which I like for its brisker tempi and because I am a huge fan of her work with Portishead, but she is singing into a microphone which I suspect is a dealbreaker for some.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

bluto32 said:


> I have the Zinman/Upshaw and Wit/Kilanowicz already mentioned in this thread and think they are both absolutely excellent. I also got Kord/Koslowska on Decca a while back, but don't like the soprano's voice as much.


Indeed, the different qualities - or any lack thereof - of the soprano voice, are essential in recordings of that work. There's a both intimate or more operatic dimension to the solo voice lines, so the demands for characterization and technique are quite high.


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

I'm sure there are many solid recordings of Gorecki's _Symphony of Sorrowful Songs_. After hearing the Upshaw/Zinman recording on classical radio, and purchasing that version, I never found it to be very satisfying and never felt the need to look elsewhere in order to get a different take on it.

_Symphony of Sorrowful Songs_ is a polarizing piece of music. People seem to to either love it or hate it. I became captivated by it right away, found it to be very powerful, and very sad yet beautiful, and that was BEFORE I even bothered to read the English translation of Polish lyrics. _Symphony of Sorrowful Songs_ exemplifies the horror of war, as well as the mystery and the power of the mother-child bond.


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## cello suite (Jul 31, 2018)

So many insightful replies! I imagine I'll be absorbing and processing the input for a while. Aside from the two I mentioned (at the top), the only other I've listened to so far and since yesterday is the Takuo Yuasa, which, at first listen, seemed to possess a certain refreshing fiery energy?

Yes, just the music itself (never mind the narrative) struck me as being very emotional (in the sad and somber sense) and so I was somewhat hesitant to post about it; I don't want to bring anybody down! I may even have to start another thread soon that asks What are people's favorite "happy" sounding string sonatas, or what have you, to balance this one out!


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## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

cello suite said:


> So many insightful replies! I imagine I'll be absorbing and processing the input for a while. Aside from the two I mentioned (at the top), the only other I've listened to so far and since yesterday is the Takuo Yuasa, which, at first listen, seemed to possess a certain refreshing fiery energy?
> 
> Yes, just the music itself (never mind the narrative) struck me as being very emotional (in the sad and somber sense) and so I was somewhat hesitant to post about it; I don't want to bring anybody down! I may even have to start another thread soon that asks What are people's favorite "happy" sounding string sonatas, or what have you, to balance this one out!


Part of the task of creating great art and music is the way that extremes and contrasts can be experienced at once, as with light and dark, chaotic yet organized, passionate yet restrained, and sad but beautiful.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

julide said:


> What's the point... i don't think any other performance will reveal anything about such a barren work.


Barren? I feel the work is quite rich. Listen again - maybe you've been hearing the wrong work.


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## Axter (Jan 15, 2020)

Ekim the Insubordinate said:


> I am quite happy with my recording by Takuo Yuasa leading the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra on ABC Classics.


This is my favourite recording as well.


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

For the adventurous, there's saxophonist Colin Stetson's post-rock "reimagining" of the symphony - an album titled "Sorrow". I like it - it's certainly not a replacement for the original but a good piece in its own right.


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

Separation, Motherhood, loss of a child. Yeah, right, pretty barren stuff.....

I have just Zinman and Wit. I don't have a strong preference, but I do find Dawn Upshaw quite compelling, although maybe that's just down to hearing that one first.

I suspect we all need to be in the right mood for this piece. It can be quite harrowing, especially at the first hearing of "Mamo, nie płacz"...Gets me every time.


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## cello suite (Jul 31, 2018)

Granate said:


> If you can tolerate non-operatic voices on microphone, the Penderecki and Beth Gibbons recording is a landmark for its sound quality and arresting emotions brought up by the orchestra and especially the singer.


Agree. I was able to find this wonderful live performance (uploaded Sept. 14th, 2019 to YouTube) and listened to it this morning. I thought that her voice fit quite well with the piece.


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## perdido34 (Mar 11, 2015)

The RPO recording conducted by Simonov is excellent, if hard to find, and the soprano is better than Upshaw's thin voice.


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## cello suite (Jul 31, 2018)

perdido34 said:


> The RPO recording conducted by Simonov is excellent, if hard to find, and the soprano is better than Upshaw's thin voice.


I found an upload of it released on the Alto label (ALC1204), and agree. :tiphat:


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