• New Górecki sculpture in Katowice

A ceremony took place today in Górecki’s home city to unveil a new memorial to the Polish composer, who died just under three years ago.  In the presence of his widow Jadwiga, his daughter Anna and her family, the new relief sculpture was seen in public for the first time.  The sculpture is located in Plac Grunwaldzki, north of the city centre and less than five minutes’ walk from where Górecki lived for many decades.  Górecki’s sculpture is the latest in a line of such annual commemorations in Katowice, designed to honour citizens who have made distinguished contributions to the artistic and cultural life of the city.  The sculptor is Zygmunt Brachmański, born three years after Górecki and in the same small town, Rydułtowy, where Górecki grew up.  Here’s a photo of both Brachmański (centre) and Górecki (right), looking at Brachmański’s bust of Szymanowski, on the occasion of the opening of the new building of the Szymanowski Music Academy in Katowice in 2008.  The photo is © Aleksandra Konieczna.

Back to today’s unveiling of Brachmański’s memorial to Górecki.  All the photos below are © Arkadiusz Gola.

Jadwiga Górecka unveiling the memorial to her husband.

Górecki oldest grandson, after laying a bouquet at the foot of the memorial.

A close-up from the left side of the bas-relief – it’s a pretty good likeness!

For Arkadiusz Gola’s full online sequence of photos, you can follow this link to Katowice’s regional daily newspaper, Dziennik Zachodni.  Here’s a translation of an excerpt from the accompanying report:

This year there was a choice of eleven candidates.  Those nominated were Grzegorz Fitelberg – conductor and composer [one of Poland’s most significant musical figures of the last century], Andrzej Seweryn Kowalski – artist and teacher, Tadeusz Michejda – architect, Theophilus Ociepka – painter and representative of Polish naive art, Stanisław Ptak – stage and film actor and operetta singer, Bolesław Szabelski – composer, organ virtuoso  and teacher [he was Górecki’s teacher too], Andrzej Szewczyk – artist, Stefan Marian Stoiński – ethnographer, conductor, composer and teacher, Witold Szalonek – outstanding composer and teacher [he also lived close by], Andrzej Urbanowicz – artist and cultural animateur, and Górecki.