Górecki first made a mark in the mid-1950s when he found himself at the forefront of the Polish avant-garde, alongside composers like Krzysztof Penderecki during the time of the post-Stalin cultural thaw.

His early works show he received inspiration from both the folk-influenced worlds of Szymanowski and Bartók and the modernist techniques of Webern and Boulez. His first symphony premiered in Warsaw in 1959. Throughout the 1960s, Górecki continued to develop his own radical direction in cycles of works that saw him both paring down his compositions and exploring the folk music traditions of his beloved Tatra region.

By the early 1970s, the simple yet monumental style for which Górecki is today renowned became fully established with works as Symphony No.2 ‘Copernican’ (1972), and the composition that would make him world-famous, Symphony No.3 'Symphony of Sorrowful Songs' (1976).

After Symphony No.3 Górecki continued to compose, but by the early ‘80s he withdrew from public life due to political and health pressures. In the ‘80s he mostly concentrated on choral settings and chamber music. Following the early ‘90s buzz of Symphony No.3, he discovered a renewed interest in string quartets and received commissions for three quartets - Already it is Dusk (1988), Quasi una fantasia (1991) and ...songs are sung (1995). For the rest of the 1990s he wrote many works including Concerto-Cantata (1992) for flute and orchestra and Kleines Requiem für eine Polka (1993), two new choral works, Salve, Sidus Polonorum (1997-2000) for chorus, percussion and keyboards, and Lobgesang (2000) for chorus and glockenspiel.

Górecki’s music has been called “more evidently Polish than his well-known compatriots.” Henryk Mikołaj Górecki completed work of his fourth symphony shortly before his death on the 12th of November 2010 aged 76.

At Unsound Festival New York, Sinfonietta Cracovia will perform his Concerto for Harpsichord, Three Pieces in the Old Style and his First String Quartet “Already It is Dusk”, which was originally written for the Kronos Quartet.