Polish composer Henryk Górecki's Symphony No. 3, Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, was released on Nonesuch Records 25 years ago today, April 24, 1992. Górecki had composed the piece in 1976, but it didn't appear on disc until then. The recording of the emotionally affecting piece, featuring soprano Dawn Upshaw and the London Sinfonietta led by conductor David Zinman, proved spellbinding to a diverse international audience, becoming the highest-selling album ever by a contemporary composer. "Perhaps people find something they need in this piece of music," Górecki speculated. "Somehow I hit the right note, something they were missing."

Today marks the release of the late Henryk Górecki’s final composition, Symphony No. 4, Tansman Episodes, recorded during the 2014 world premiere performance at Royal Festival Hall with London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Andrey Boreyko. The piece, incomplete at the time of Górecki’s death, had precise indications for orchestration, which Górecki’s son Mikolaj, also a composer, used to complete it. NPR calls it "an intriguing summation of the sounds of a singular career." Symphony No. 4 is out individually and as part of Henryk Górecki: A Nonesuch Retrospective, a seven-disc box set containing all Nonesuch recordings of Górecki works. Also out now: the first vinyl LP of the beloved 1992 Nonesuch recording of Górecki’s Symphony No. 3.

The first recording of composer Henryk Górecki's final work, Symphony No. 4, Tansman Episodes, is out next Friday, January 22, on Nonesuch Records. But you don't need to wait till then to hear it: the album is streaming in full here as an NPR First Listen. "It's an intriguing summation of the sounds of a singular career," says NPR.

Over the past week, the Nonesuch Journal has posted a series of videos leading to the January 22 release of the seven-disc box set Henryk Górecki: A Nonesuch Retrospective, the first recording of the his Symphony No. 4, and the first vinyl LP of the beloved 1992 Nonesuch recording of his Symphony No. 3. The previous videos include interviews with the late composer; his son Mikolaj, who completed his father’s Fourth Symphony; Adrian Thomas, who wrote the liner notes; and conductor Andrey Boreyko, who led the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s premiere and recording of Symphony No. 4. Today comes the final in this series of videos: an excerpt from the premiere performance of Symphony No. 4. Watch it here.

The five-part series celebrating the January 22 release of Henryk Górecki: A Nonesuch Retrospective and the first recording of the late composer's final work, Symphony No. 4, Tansman Episodes, continues. Today, we hear from conductor Andrey Boreyko, who led the London Philharmonic Orchestra in the premiere performance and Nonesuch recording of the new piece. "I hear these chorales bringing a very special atmosphere of concentrating on one’s own life," says Boreyko, "the lives of other people, things that happened, the meaning of it all, the afterlife, is there a light at the end of the tunnel or isn’t there? I believe this symphony as a whole is trying to answer this question as well." Watch the interview here.

The Nonesuch Journal continues its five-part video series marking the forthcoming release of Henryk Górecki: A Nonesuch Retrospective and the first recording of the late composer's final work, Symphony No. 4, Tansman Episodes, by hearing from Adrian Thomas, the author of the book Górecki and of the liner notes for the new recording. "What you get in this Fourth Symphony is pretty much the widest range of Henryk's character," says Thomas. "I think he had very broad interests in terms of what constitutes the mind, what constitutes the spirit, what constitutes the soul, and that can involve earthy things as well as ethereal things, and this is what you get in the Fourth Symphony." Watch the interview here.

Yesterday, the Nonesuch Journal began a five-part series of videos marking the forthcoming release of the seven-disc box set Henryk Górecki: A Nonesuch Retrospective with the first recording of the late composer's final work, Symphony No. 4, Tansman Episodes, on Friday, January 22. Today, Górecki’s son, composer Mikolaj, who completed Symphony No. 4 after his father’s death, discusses the piece; his relationship with his father as son and pupil; and his efforts to complete the piece after the precise indications for orchestration his father had left in the score.

Nonesuch Records releases Henryk Górecki: A Nonesuch Retrospective, a seven-disc box set containing all of the Nonesuch recordings of Górecki works, as well as the first recording of the late composer's final work, Symphony No. 4, Tansman Episodes, on January 22. That day also brings the first vinyl LP of the 1992 Nonesuch recording of Górecki’s Symphony No. 3. In advance of these releases, the Nonesuch Journal presents a series of related videos, starting today with a 1992 interview with the composer about his beloved Symphony No. 3. Watch it here, and check back in the days ahead for interviews with key players in the recording of Fourth and more.

Nonesuch releases the late Henryk Górecki’s final composition, Symphony No. 4, Tansman Episodes, on January 22, 2016. The recording was made during the 2014 world premiere performance at Royal Festival Hall with London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Andrey Boreyko. The piece was incomplete at the time of Górecki’s 2010 death; however the score had precise indications for orchestration, which Górecki’s son Mikolaj, also a composer, used to complete it. Symphony No. 4 will be released individually and as part of Henryk Górecki: A Nonesuch Retrospective, a seven-disc box set of all Nonesuch recordings of Górecki works. The first vinyl LP of the beloved 1992 Nonesuch recording of his Symphony No. 3 also will be released. Pre-orders are available in the Nonesuch Store.

Polish composer Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, who passed away a year ago this week, will be celebrated in a free memorial concert at New York's (Le) Poisson Rouge tonight. The all-Górecki program, presented by LPR and the Polish Cultural Institute in New York, features Górecki's Kleines Requiem für eine Polka, performed by Ensemble Signal, led by Brad Lubman, and Quasi una Fantasia: String Quartet No. 2, Op. 64, performed by the JACK Quartet.

"The three string quartets Henryk Górecki wrote for Kronos are a totally unique body of work," writes Kronos Quartet Artistic Director David Harrington of the composer, who passed away earlier today. "With Already it is Dusk, Quasi una fantasia, and ...songs are sung, Górecki extended a tradition that includes Bach and Beethoven, among many others." Read Harrington's personal remembrances here and see photos of Kronos and the composer.

Nonesuch Records was saddened to learn of the death of composer Henryk Mikolaj Górecki, who died at the age of 76 today in Katowice, Poland, after a long illness. Górecki reached a worldwide audience in the 1990s with his Symphony No.3, which reached the top of the classical charts in the US and UK. He wrote three string quartets for Kronos Quartet, whose Artistic Director David Harrington says: "There is no one who can replace Henryk Górecki in the world of music. Many others have created beautiful, passionate, even exalted music. But Henryk found a way forward and beyond, through thickets of styles and fashions, that resonates of the single human being in communion with the power of the Universe. I miss him immensely."