Henryk Mikołaj Górecki - Op.1 4 Preludes for Piano (1955) (Score, Analysis)

Op.1 Cztery preludia/4 Preludes
For several days from here, I will post Górecki’s piano works every day, from the oldest to the latest. There’s quite a bit of piano works from him, but most of them are miniatures, so I thought putting them one by one in regular upload schedule is kind of a waste of time, so I selected a week to present all of them at once. Enjoy!
Henryk Mikołaj Górecki (1933-2010) was a Polish composer of contemporary music. He is most famous for his third symphony, but his oeuvres stretch from piano miniatures to gigantic choral works. His earlier compositions are in serialist style, while his later ones are in a minimalist style.
So, the very first of Górecki’s piano work is in a serial style reminiscent of his early period. Actually, there are several recorded pieces before this (the first composed piece on record is from 1950), but it seems that the composer destroyed all of them. So, this is the first piece from Górecki. It was premiered on 30 January 1970 by Kazimierz Morski. They are reminiscent of Bartok’s style (in the middle period, around the Etudes and Improvisation), like many pieces from this early period.
The composer’s daughter (Anna Górecka, a pianist) points out that the 4 pieces constitute a mini-sonata cycle. Indeed, while none of the 4 pieces are in sonata form, the first one has an element of sonata-like development in the middle section, and the arrangement of the pieces is kind of like a Beethoven symphony - Sonata-Slow movement-Scherzo-Fast Finale - something like that.
(0:00) No.1 Molto agitato - The first starts with a toccata-like texture.
(0:32) The middle section, a calm one, features a modified version of the initial theme.
(2:22) Outer section.
(3:08) No.2 Lento-recitativo - The second piece is a rather calm one based on single theme.
(5:10) No.3 Allegro scherzando - The third piece is a bit playful, and there are some textures that make way to the last movement of the piano sonata in my opinion.
(6:06) No.4 Molto allegro quasi presto - A perpetuum mobile, this last finale concludes the collection in a virtuosic and turbulent way.
Performed by Anna Górecka
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[@steveegallo3384]

Marvelous rare series of piano miniatures.....Huge curation.....BRAVO from Acapulco!