Henryk Górecki

The most interesting people, and certainly the best artists, are exceptionally self-reflective, self-critical individuals who are entirely free from the desire to see themselves through the eyes of others. It is a delicate state, but those who achieve it are souls truly liberated from the social confines of their surroundings and open to pursue the strength of their own authenticity. They are not sociopaths, for they often possess a conscience and an empathy and a rigid morality that surpasses their peers. They simply do not allow others to motivate or define them.

Consider this quote from the composer Henryk Górecki:

"I never write for my listeners. I think about my audience, but I am not writing for them. I have something to tell them, but the audience must also put a certain effort into it. But I never wrote for an audience and never will write for because you have to give the listener something and he has to make an effort in order to understand certain things. The same thing is true of poetry, of paintings, of books. If I were thinking of my audience and one likes this, one likes that, one likes another thing, I would never know what to write."

and this exchange during a 2007 interview attempting to discuss his quartet, "Songs are Sung":

"It’s just notes," says Gorecki dismissively. Does it have a religious or spiritual impulse? "That must remain in my work room," he repeats. Did the third symphony have a message? "Listen," says the composer, "what goes into my music stays in my room. The world can hear what it likes."

It seems that whenever I find a friend or an artist that I admire, a quick look into his or her life reveals a similar character. Will we ever find a politician like this?

While I'm not a big fan of the glossy video interpretation of the movement above, the entire symphony is truly transcendent. Much if not all of his other work is also worth a listen.