Górecki:
Concerto for Harpsichord and Strings
Part:
Tabula Rasa
Schnittke:
Concerto Grosso No. 1

The Pole Henryk Mikolaj Górecki, the Estonian Arvo Pärt and the Russian Alfred Schnittke belong to one generation – a generation that grew up under the pressure of communist regimes in Eastern Europe, behind the ‘iron curtain’. All three composers were regarded in the 1960s as avant-garde, and in the 1970s they changed their styles dramatically towards the ‘new simplicity’ and old traditions. In their music all three use different stylistic allusions from past centuries; all three are looking for new values in very simple ‘roots’ of musical language, such as a triad, a consonance or a basic rhythmical pattern. Music written by any of the three seems to be familiar, yet it would be hard to find any particular borrowed model. These composers write music that does not contain decorative embellishment. Music appears to be a spiritual language that is clear to everyone. Music by these composers is widely known, performed and recorded, marking an exceptional level of popularity for serious music of the twentieth century.