Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best known

works Works may refer to: People * Caddy Works (1896–1982), American college sports coach * Samuel Works (c. 1781–1868), New York politician Albums * '' ''Works'' (Pink Floyd album)'', a Pink Floyd album from 1983 * ''Works'', a Gary Burton album ...

include ''

Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima (''Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima for 52 string instruments'') , other_name = , year = , catalogue = , period = Contemporary, postmodernism , genre = Sonorism, avant-gar ...

'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', ''

Polish Requiem ''Polish Requiem'' (original Polish title: '' Requiem''; german: Requiem), also ''A Polish Requiem'', is a large-scale requiem mass for soloists, mixed choir and orchestra by the Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki. The Lacrimosa, dedicated to ...

'', ''

Anaklasis ''Anaklasis'' is a composition for 42 string instruments and percussion, composed in 1960 by the Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki. It was first performed at the Donaueschingen Festival in 1960. At this first performance, it was well received ...

'' and ''

Utrenja ''Utrenja'', alternatively spelled as ''Utrenia'', ''Utrenya'', or ''Jutrznia'', and sometimes also translated as ''Matins'', is a set of two liturgical compositions by Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki. They were composed and premiered in 1970 ...

''. Penderecki's ''oeuvre'' includes four operas, eight symphonies and other orchestral pieces, a variety of instrumental concertos, choral settings of mainly religious texts, as well as chamber and instrumental works''.'' Born in Dębica, Penderecki studied music at Jagiellonian University and the

Academy of Music in Kraków The Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków ( pl, Akademia Muzyczna im. Krzysztofa Pendereckiego w Krakowie) is a conservatory located in central Kraków, Poland. It is the '' alma mater'' of the renowned Polish contemporary composer Krz ...

. After graduating from the Academy, he became a teacher there and began his career as a composer in 1959 during the

Warsaw Autumn Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

festival. His ''Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'' for string orchestra and the choral work ''St. Luke Passion'' have received popular acclaim. His first opera, ''

The Devils of Loudun ''The Devils of Loudun'' is a 1952 non-fiction novel by Aldous Huxley. Premise It is a historical narrative of supposed demonic possession, religious fanaticism, sexual repression, and mass hysteria that occurred in 17th-century France surroun ...

'', was not immediately successful. In the mid-1970s, Penderecki became a professor at the Yale School of Music. Beginning in the mid-1970s, Penderecki's composition style changed, with his first violin concerto focusing on the

semitone A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically. It is defined as the interval between two adjacent no ...

and the

tritone In music theory, the tritone is defined as a musical interval composed of three adjacent whole tones (six semitones). For instance, the interval from F up to the B above it (in short, F–B) is a tritone as it can be decomposed into the three adj ...

. His choral work ''Polish Requiem'' was written in the 1980s and expanded in 1993 and 2005. Penderecki won many prestigious awards, including the

Prix Italia The Prix Italia is an international Television, Radio-broadcasting and Web award. It was established in 1948 by RAI – Radiotelevisione Italiana (in 1948, RAI had the denomination RAI – Radio Audizioni Italiane) in Capri and is honoured with the ...

in 1967 and 1968; the

Wihuri Sibelius Prize The Wihuri Sibelius Prize is a music prize awarded by the Wihuri Foundation for International Prizes to prominent composers who have become internationally known and acknowledged. The Wihuri Sibelius Prize is one of the biggest and most prestig ...

of 1983; four Grammy Awards in 1987, 1998 (twice), and 2017; the

Wolf Prize in Arts The Wolf Prize in Arts is awarded annually by the not-for-profit Wolf Foundation in Israel. It is one of the six Wolf Prizes established by the Foundation, and has been awarded since 1981; the others are in Agriculture, Chemistry, Mathematics, Medi ...

in 1987; and the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one o ...

Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition The Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition () is an annual prize instituted by Henry Charles Grawemeyer, industrialist and entrepreneur, at the University of Louisville in 1984. The award was first given in 1985. Subsequently, the Grawemeyer Awar ...

in 1992. In 2012, Sean Michaels of ''The Guardian'' called him 'arguably Poland's greatest living composer'.

Career

1933–1958: Early years

Penderecki was born on 23 November 1933 in Dębica, the son of Zofia and Tadeusz Penderecki, a lawyer. Penderecki's grandfather, Robert Berger, was a highly talented painter and director of the local bank at the time of Penderecki's birth; Robert's father Johann, a German

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

, moved to Dębica from Breslau (now

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

) in the mid-19th century. Out of love for his wife, he subsequently converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

.Filip Lech
Mistrz
wprost.pl, 18. nov. 2018Schwinger, p. 16. Penderecki's grandmother Stefania was an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

from Stanislau in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(present-day Ivano-Frankivsk in Western

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

). Penderecki used to go to the

Armenian Church Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

in Kraków with her. He was the youngest of three siblings; his sister, Barbara, was married to a mining engineer, and his older brother, Janusz, was studying law and medicine at the time of his birth. Tadeusz was a violinist and also played piano. In 1939, the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

broke out, and Penderecki's family moved out of their apartment, as the Ministry of Food was to operate there. After the war, Penderecki began attending grammar school in 1946. He began studying the violin under Stanisław Darłak, Dębica's military bandmaster who organized an orchestra for the local music society after the war. Upon graduating from grammar school, Penderecki moved to Kraków in 1951, where he attended Jagiellonian University.Schwinger, p. 17. He studied violin with Stanisław Tawroszewicz and music theory with Franciszek Skołyszewski. In 1954, Penderecki entered the

and, having finished his studies on violin after his first year, focused entirely on composition. Penderecki's main teacher there was Artur Malawski, a composer known for his choral and orchestral works, as well as chamber music and songs. After Malawski's death in 1957, Penderecki took further lessons with Stanisław Wiechowicz, a composer primarily known for his choral works.Schwinger, pp. 18–19. At the time, the 1956 overthrow of Stalinism in Poland lifted strict cultural censorship and opened the door to a wave of creativity.

1958–1962: First compositions

Upon graduating from the Academy of Music in Kraków in 1958, Penderecki took up a teaching post at the Academy. His early works show the influence of

Anton Webern Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (3 December 188315 September 1945), better known as Anton Webern (), was an Austrian composer and conductor whose music was among the most radical of its milieu in its sheer concision, even aphorism, and stead ...

and Pierre Boulez (Penderecki was also influenced by Igor Stravinsky). Penderecki's international recognition began in 1959 at the

with the premieres of the works ''Strophen'', ''Psalms of David'', and ''Emanations'', but the piece that truly brought him to international attention was ''

'' (see threnody and

atomic bombing of Hiroshima The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the onl ...

), written in 1960 for 52 string instruments. In it, he makes use of extended instrumental techniques (for example, playing behind the bridge, bowing on the tailpiece). There are many novel textures in the work, which makes extensive use of tone clusters. He originally titled the work ''8' 37"'', but decided to dedicate it to the victims of Hiroshima. ''Fluorescences'' followed a year later; it increases the orchestral density with more wind and brass, and an enormous percussion section of 32 instruments for six players, including a Mexican güiro, typewriters, gongs and other unusual instruments. The piece was composed for the

Donaueschingen Festival The Donaueschingen Festival (german: Donaueschinger Musiktage, links=no) is a festival for new music that takes place every October in the small town of Donaueschingen in south-western Germany. Founded in 1921, it is considered the oldest festiva ...

of contemporary music of 1962, and its performance was regarded as provocative and controversial. Even the score appeared revolutionary; the form of graphic notation that Penderecki had developed rejected the familiar look of notes on a staff, instead representing music as morphing sounds. His intentions at this stage were quite Cagean: 'All I'm interested in is liberating sound beyond all tradition'. Another noteworthy piece of this period is the ''Canon'' for 52 strings and 2 tapes. This is in a similar style to other pieces in the late 1950s in its use of sound masses, dramatically juxtaposed with traditional means although the use of standard techniques or idioms is often disguised or distorted. Indeed, the Canon brings to mind the choral tradition and indeed the composer has the players sing, albeit with the performance indication of ''bocca chiusa'' (with closed mouth) at various points; nevertheless, Penderecki uses the 52 'voices' of the string orchestra to play in massed glissandi and harmonics at times – this is then recorded by one of the tapes for playback later on in the piece. It was performed at the Warsaw Autumn Festival in 1962 and caused a riot although curiously the rioters were young music students and not older concertgoers. At the same time, he started composing music for theater and film. The first theater performance with Penderecki's music was ''Złoty kluczyk'' (''Golden Little Key'') by Yekaterina Borysowa directed by Władysław Jarema (premiered on 12 May 1957 in Krakow at the "Groteska" Puppet Theater). In 1959, at the Cartoon Film Studio in Bielsko-Biała, he composed the music for the first animated film, ''Bulandra i diabeł'' (''Coal Miner Bulandra and Devil''), directed by Jerzy Zitzman and

Lechosław Marszałek Lechosław Marszałek (9 March 1922–26 March 1991) was a Polish animated film director and script writer. He is best known as the creator of ''Reksio Reksio is a Polish cartoon character who is the protagonist of the children's animated adventu ...

. In 1959, he wrote the score for

Jan Łomnicki Jan Łomnicki (30 June 1929 – 18 December 2002) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. A graduate of the National Film School in Łódź. He directed more than thirty films between 1954 and 2000. His 1976 film ''To Save the City'' ( ...

's first short fiction film, ''Nie ma końca wielkiej wojny'' (''There is no End to the Great War'', WFDiF Warszawa). In the following years, he created over twenty original musical settings for dramatic and over 40 puppet performances, and composed original music for at least eleven documentary and feature films as well as for twenty-five animated films for adults and children.

''The St. Luke Passion''

The large-scale '' St. Luke Passion'' (1963–66) brought Penderecki further popular acclaim, not least because it was devoutly religious, yet written in an avant-garde musical language, and composed within Communist Eastern Europe. Various different musical styles can be seen in the piece. The experimental textures, such as were employed in the ''Threnody'', are balanced by the work's Baroque form and the occasional use of more traditional harmonic and

melodic A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combinat ...

writing. Penderecki makes use of serialism in this piece, and one of the tone rows he uses includes the BACH motif, which acts as a bridge between the conventional and more experimental elements. The Stabat Mater section toward the end of the piece concludes on a simple chord of D major, and this gesture is repeated at the very end of the work, which finishes on a triumphant E major chord. These are the only tonal harmonies in the work, and both come as a surprise to the listener; Penderecki's use of tonal triads such as these remains a controversial aspect of the work. Penderecki continued to write sacred music. In the early 1970s he wrote a Dies irae, a

Magnificat The Magnificat (Latin for " y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos (). It is traditionally incorporated into the liturgical servic ...

, and Canticum Canticorum Salomonis ( Song of Songs) for chorus and orchestra.

De Natura Sonoris and other pieces in the 1960s and early 1970s

Penderecki's preoccupation with sound culminated in ''De Natura Sonoris I'' (1966), which frequently calls upon the orchestra to use non-standard playing techniques to produce original sounds and colours. A sequel, ''De Natura Sonoris II'', was composed in 1971: with its more limited orchestra, it incorporates more elements of post-

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

than its predecessor. This foreshadowed Penderecki's renunciation of the avant-garde in the mid-1970s, although both pieces feature dramatic glissandos, dense clusters, use of harmonics, and unusual instruments (the musical saw features in the second piece). In 1968 Penderecki received the State Prize 1st class. During the jubilee of the People's Republic of Poland he received the Commander's Cross (1974) and Knight's Cross of

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievement ...

(1964). Towards the end of the decade, Penderecki received a commission to write for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. The result was ''Kosmogonia'', a piece of twenty minutes for 3 soloists (soprano, tenor, bass), mixed choir and orchestra. The Los Angeles Philharmonic premiered the piece on 24 October 1970 with

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father was the fou ...

as conductor and Robert Nagy as tenor. The piece uses texts from ancient writers

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...

and

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

in addition to contemporary statements from

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

and American astronauts to musically explore the idea of the

cosmos The cosmos (, ) is another name for the Universe. Using the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos, and understandings of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in ...

1970s–2020: Later years

Wladyslaw bartoszewski, krzysztof penderecki

In the mid-1970s, while he was a professor at the

Yale School of Music The Yale School of Music (often abbreviated to YSM) is one of the 12 professional schools at Yale University. It offers three graduate degrees: Master of Music (MM), Master of Musical Arts (MMA), and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), as well as a join ...

, Penderecki's style began to change. The

Violin Concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

No. 1 largely leaves behind the dense tone clusters with which he had been associated, and instead focuses on two

intervals: the

and the

. This direction continued with the Symphony No. 2 (1980), which is harmonically and melodically quite straightforward; the symphony is sometimes referred to as the "Christmas Symphony" due to the opening phrase of the

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French ori ...

Silent Night "Silent Night" (german: "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht", links=no, italic=no) is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an ...

'' appearing three times during the work. Penderecki explained this shift by stating that he had come to feel that the experimentation of the avant-garde had gone too far from the expressive, non-formal qualities of Western music: 'The avant-garde gave one an illusion of universalism. The musical world of

Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groundb ...

Nono Nono may refer to: Places * Nono, Argentina, a municipality in the Province of Córdoba * Nono, Ecuador, a parish in the municipality of Quito in the province of Pichincha * Nono, Illubabor, Oromia (woreda), Ethiopia, or Nono Sele ** Nono, Illub ...

, Boulez and Cage was for us, the young – hemmed in by the aesthetics of socialist realism, then the official canon in our country – a liberation...I was quick to realise however, that this novelty, this experimentation, and formal speculation, is more destructive than constructive; I realised the Utopian quality of its Promethean tone'. Penderecki concluded that he was 'saved from the avant-garde snare of formalism by a return to tradition'. Penderecki wrote relatively little chamber music. However, compositions for smaller ensembles range in date from the start of his career to the end, reflecting the changes his style of writing has undergone. In 1975 the

Lyric Opera of Chicago Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria ...

asked him to write a work to commemorate the US Bicentennial in 1976; this became the opera '' Paradise Lost.'' Delays to the project however meant it did not see its premiere until 1978. The music continued to illustrate Penderecki's move away from avant-garde techniques: it is tonal music and the composer explained: 'This is not music by the angry young man I used to be'. In 1980, Penderecki was commissioned by Solidarity to compose a piece to accompany the unveiling of a statue at the Gdańsk shipyards to commemorate those killed in anti-government riots there in 1970. Penderecki responded with ''Lacrimosa'', which he later expanded into one of the best-known works of his later period, the ''

'' (1980–84, 1993, 2005). Later, he tended towards more traditionally conceived tonal constructs, as heard in works such as the Cello Concerto No. 2 and the

Credo In Christian liturgy, the credo (; Latin for "I believe") is the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed – or its shorter version, the Apostles' Creed – in the Mass, either as a prayer, a spoken text, or sung as Gregorian chant or other musical sett ...

, which received the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for best choral performance for the world-premiere recording made by the

Oregon Bach Festival Oregon Bach Festival (OBF) is an annual celebration of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and his musical legacy, held in Eugene, Oregon, United States, in late June and early July. About the festival The festival's programming is three-fold. It ...

, which commissioned the piece. The same year, Penderecki was awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize in Spain, one of the highest honours given in Spain to individuals, entities, organizations or others from around the world who make notable achievements in the sciences, arts, humanities, or public affairs. Invited by Walter Fink, he was the eleventh composer featured in the annual Komponistenporträt of the Rheingau Musik Festival in 2001. He conducted the Credo on the occasion of the 70th birthday of

Helmuth Rilling Helmuth Rilling (born 29 May 1933) is a German choral conductor and an academic teacher. He is the founder of the Gächinger Kantorei (1954), the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart (1965), the Oregon Bach Festival (1970), the Internationale Bachakademie ...

, 29 May 2003. Penderecki received an honorary doctorate from the Seoul National University, Korea, in 2005 and the

University of Münster The University of Münster (german: Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, WWU) is a public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. With more than 43,000 students and over 120 fields of stud ...

, Germany, in 2006. His notable students include

Chester Biscardi Chester Biscardi (b. Kenosha, Wisconsin, Kenosha, Wisconsin, October 19, 1948; nicknamed Chet) is an Italian American composer and educator. He received a B.A. degree in English literature from the University of Wisconsin–Madison (1970); he stu ...

and Walter Mays. In celebration of his 75th birthday, he conducted three of his works at the Rheingau Musik Festival in 2008, among them Ciaccona from the ''Polish Requiem''. In 2010, he worked on an opera based on

Phèdre ''Phèdre'' (; originally ''Phèdre et Hippolyte'') is a French dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Jean Racine, first performed in 1677 at the theatre of the Hôtel de Bourgogne in Paris. Composition and premiere Wit ...

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...

for 2014, which was never realized, and expressed his wish to write a 9th symphony. In 2014, he was engaged in the creation of a choral work to coincide with the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...

centennial. In 2018, he conducted Credo in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

at the 29th

Kyiv Music Fest Kyiv Music Fest ( uk, Київ Музик Фест), is an annual international music festival in Kyiv, Ukraine that profiles modern Ukrainian classical music aiming to promote Ukrainian musicians in the context of world art. The co-founders of t ...

, marking the centenary of Polish independence.

Personal life

Penderecki had three children, first a daughter Beata with pianist Barbara Penderecka ( Graca), whom he married in 1954. They later divorced. He then had a son, Łukasz (b. 1966), and daughter, Dominika (b. 1971), with his second wife, Elżbieta Penderecka ( Solecka), whom he married on 19 December 1965. He lived in the Kraków suburb of

Wola Justowska Wola Justowska is an area belonging to Zwierzyniec District Nº. VII of Kraków, Poland. It was previously a village known as Wola Chełmska until the 16th century. It became part of metropolitan Kraków in 1941. See also * Districts of Kraków ...

. He was also a keen gardener and established a 15-hectare arboretum near his

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

in Lusławice. Penderecki died after a long illness in his home in Kraków, Poland, on 29 March 2020. He was buried at the National Pantheon in Kraków on 29 March 2022.

Legacy

Popiersie Krzysztof Penderecki ssj 20110627

In 1979, a bronze bust by artist

Marian Konieczny Marian Adam Konieczny (13 January 1930, Jasionów – 25 July 2017 Jaroszowiec) was a Polish sculptor and politician, Professor and Dean at the Faculty of Sculpture of the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. Life A 1954 graduate of th ...

honouring Penderecki was unveiled in The Gallery of Composers' Portraits at the

Pomeranian Philharmonic , native_name_lang = , image = File:Bdg Filharmonia fr 1 07-2013.jpg , image_size = 300px , image_alt = Pomeranian Philharmonic Bydgoszcz , image_caption = Pomeranian Philharmonic in Bydgoszcz , coor ...

in Bydgoszcz. His monument is located on the Celebrity Alley at the Scout Square (''Skwer Harcerski'') in Kielce. The

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

guitarist and founding member Jimmy Page was an admirer of the composer's groundbreaking work ''

'' during his teenage years. This would be reflected later by Page's use of the violin bow on his guitar. The composer and Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood cited Penderecki as a major influence. For Radiohead's 1997 album '' OK Computer'', Greenwood wrote a part for 16 stringed instruments playing

quarter tones A quarter tone is a pitch halfway between the usual notes of a chromatic scale or an interval about half as wide (aurally, or logarithmically) as a semitone, which itself is half a whole tone. Quarter tones divide the octave by 50 cents each, a ...

apart, inspired by Penderecki. Greenwood visited Penderecki in 2012 and wrote a work for strings, ''48 Responses to Polymorphia'', which Penderecki conducted in various performances throughout Europe. Penderecki credited Greenwood for introducing his music to a new generation.

Works

Penderecki's compositions include operas, symphonies, choral works, as well as chamber and instrumental music.

Film and television scores

Krzysztof Penderecki composed between 1959 and 1968 original music for at least eleven documentary and feature films as well as for twenty-five animated films for adults and children. Some of Penderecki's music has been adapted for film soundtracks. ''

The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty ...

'' (1973) features his String Quartet and ''Kanon For Orchestra and Tape''; fragments of the Cello Concerto and ''

''. Writing about ''The Exorcist'', the film critic for ''The New Republic'' wrote that 'even the music is faultless, most of it by Krzysztof Penderecki, who at last is where he belongs'. Stanley Kubrick's '' The Shining'' (1980) features six pieces of Penderecki's music: ''

II: Ewangelia'', ''Utrenja II: Kanon Paschy'', ''The Awakening of Jacob'', '' De Natura Sonoris No. 1'', '' De Natura Sonoris No. 2'' and ''

Polymorphia ''Polymorphia'' (Many forms) is a composition for 48 string instruments (24 violins and 8 each of violas, cellos and basses) composed by the Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki in 1961. The piece was commissioned by the North German Radio Hambur ...

''. David Lynch has used Penderecki's music in the soundtracks of the films '' Wild at Heart'' (1990), '' Inland Empire'' (2006), and the TV series ''

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on ABC on April 8, 1990, and originally ran for two seasons until its cancellation in 1991. The show returned in 2017 for ...

'' (2017). In the film ''

Fearless Fearless or The Fearless may refer to: Psychology * Lack of fear * Courage or bravery Film, television and audio Film * ''Fearless'' (1978 film), an Italian film directed by Stelvio Massi * ''Fearless'' (1993 film), an American drama directed ...

'' (1993) by

Peter Weir Peter Lindsay Weir ( ; born August 21, 1944) is a retired Australian film director. He's known for directing films crossing various genres over forty years with films such as '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (1975), ''Gallipoli'' (1981), ''Witness ...

, the piece ''

'' was once again used for an intense plane crash scene, seen from the point of view of the passenger played by

Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent ac ...

. Penderecki's ''

Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima (''Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima for 52 string instruments'') , other_name = , year = , catalogue = , period = Contemporary, postmodernism , genre = Sonorism, avant-gar ...

'' was also used during one of the final sequences in the film '' Children of Men'' (2006). Penderecki composed music for

Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the ...

's 2007 Academy Award nominated film '' Katyń'', while

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...

's ''

Shutter Island ''Shutter Island'' is a novel by American writer Dennis Lehane, published by HarperCollins in April 2003. It is about a U.S. Marshal who goes to an isolated hospital for the criminally insane to investigate the disappearance of a patient who is ...

'' (2010) featured his Symphony No. 3 and ''Fluorescences''. Some of Penderecki's oeuvre inspired Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead to release an album, which thereafter appeared in his score for ''

There Will Be Blood ''There Will Be Blood'' is a 2007 American period drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, loosely based on the 1927 novel '' Oil!'' by Upton Sinclair. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview, a silver miner turned oilm ...

'', a 2007

Paul Thomas Anderson Paul Thomas Anderson (born June 26, 1970), also known by his initials PTA, is an American filmmaker. He made his feature-film debut with '' Hard Eight'' (1996). He found critical and commercial success with ''Boogie Nights'' (1997) and received ...

film.

Honors and awards

Per artem ad deum 2015 - kucma, herder, penderecki

* 1959: 2nd Competition for Young Polish Composers in Warsaw organised by the Composers' Union – Penderecki was awarded the top three prizes for the works he anonymously submitted: ''Stanzas'', ''Emanations'', and ''Psalms of David''; * 1961: Prize of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

International Tribune of Composers in Paris for ''Threnody''; * 1966: Grand Art Prize of North Rhine-Westphalia for ''St. Luke Passion''; * 1967: Prix Italia for the ''St. Luke Passion''; Sibelius Gold Medal; * 1968:

for the ''Dies Irae'' in memory of the victims of Auschwitz;

Grammy Trustees Award The Grammy Trustees Award is awarded by The Recording Academy to "individuals who, during their careers in music, technology, and so on have made significant contributions, other than performance, to the field of recording". From 1983 onwards, per ...

for significant contributions, other than performance, to the field of recording; * 1972:

City of Kraków Award The City of Kraków Award is an award bestowed annually by the President of Kraków, Poland, for contributions relating to the city, and the popularization of its culture at home and abroad. It is given to prominent artists in the field of theatre, ...

; * 1977: Herder Prize (Germany/Austria) * 1978: Prix

Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. A member of Les Six, his best known work is probably ''Antigone'', composed between 1924 and 1927 t ...

for ''Magnificat'' (France) * 1983:

(Finland); Polish National Award * 1985: Premio Lorenzo Magnifico (Italy) * 1987:

(Israel); Grammy for Best Contemporary Composition * 1990: Grand Cross of Merit of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

; Chevalier de Saint Georges; * 1992:

for ''Adagio – 4 Symphony''; Austrian Medal for Science and Art; * 1993: Distinguished Citizen Fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

, Bloomington, Prize of the International Music Council / UNESCO for Music; Cultural Merit of the

Principality of Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Liguria ...

* 1995: Member of the

Royal Irish Academy of Music The Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM) in Dublin, Ireland, is one of Europe's oldest music conservatoires, specialising in classical music and the Irish harp. It is located in a Georgian building on Westland Row in Dublin. An institution whic ...

(Dublin); honorary citizen of Strasbourg; Primetime Emmy Award of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences; Pro Baltica Prize * 1996: Primetime Emmy Award of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France) * 1998: Grammy for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance; Composition Prize for the Promotion of the European economy, Foreign Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...

; corresponding member of the

Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts Bavarian is the adjective form of the German state of Bavaria, and refers to people of ancestry from Bavaria. Bavarian may also refer to: * Bavarii, a Germanic tribe * Bavarians, a nation and ethnographic group of Germans * Bavarian, Iran, a vill ...

, Munich;

Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas The Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas is the Lithuanian Presidential Award which was re-instituted to honour the citizens of Lithuania for outstanding performance in civil and public offices. Foreign nationals may also be awarded this O ...

(Lithuania) * 1999: Music Prize of the City of

Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in No ...

(Germany); Honorary Board of the Vilnius Festival '99 * 2000:

Cannes Classical Award The International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) are music awards first awarded 6 April 2011. ICMA replace the Cannes Classical Awards (later called MIDEM Classical Awards) formerly awarded at MIDEM. The jury consists of music critics of magazines ...

as "Living Composer of the Year"; honorary member of the Society of Friends of Music in Vienna; Officer of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking ...

; * 2001:

Prince of Asturias Award The Princess of Asturias Awards ( es, Premios Princesa de Asturias, links=no, ast, Premios Princesa d'Asturies, links=no), formerly the Prince of Asturias Awards from 1981 to 2014 ( es, Premios Príncipe de Asturias, links=no), are a series of a ...

for Art (Spain); Grammy for Best Choral Performance for Credo; Honorary Professor of the

Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) (Chinese: 香港演藝學院) is a provider of tertiary education in Hong Kong. Located near the north coast of Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island, the main campus also functions as a venue for pe ...

* 2002: State Prize of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

(Germany),

Romano Guardini Romano Guardini (17 February 1885 – 1 October 1968) was a German Catholic priest, author, and academic. He was one of the most important figures in Catholic intellectual life in the 20th century. Life and work Guardini was born in Verona, I ...

Prize * 2003: Grand Gold Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria;

Preis der Europäischen Kirchenmusik The Preis der Europäischen Kirchenmusik is a German music prize awarded annually since 1999 by the Schwäbisch Gmünd Festival Europäische Kirchenmusik. Awards are given to excellent composers and artists for achievements in the field of sacred m ...

(Germany), Freedom of Dębica, Eduardo M. Torner Medal of the Conservatorio de Musica del Principado Asturias in Oviedo, Spain; honorary director of the Choir of the Prince of Asturias Foundation, Honorary President of the ''Apayo a la Creación Musical'', Judaica Foundation Medal; * 2004:

Praemium Imperiale Prince Takamatsu The Praemium Imperiale ( ja, 高松宮殿下記念世界文化賞, Takamatsu-no-miya Denka Kinen Sekai Bunka-shō, World Culture Prize in Memory of His Imperial Highness Prince Takamatsu) is an international art prize inaugur ...

– Music (Japan) * 2005:

Order of the White Eagle (Poland) The Order of the White Eagle ( pl, Order Orła Białego) is Poland's highest order awarded to both civilians and the military for their merits. It was officially instituted on 1 November 1705 by Augustus II the Strong, King of Poland and Electo ...

; Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis * 2006:

Order of the Three Stars Order of the Three Stars ( lv, Triju Zvaigžņu ordenis) is the highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvija ...

(Latvia) * 2008:

Polish Academy Award for Best Film Score The Polish Academy Award for Best Film Score is an annual award given to the best Polish film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral p ...

for ''Katyn'', Commander of the

(Latvia),

Order of Bernardo O'Higgins The Order of Bernardo O'Higgins ( es, Orden de Bernardo O'Higgins) is an award issued by Chile. It is the highest civilian honor awarded to non-Chilean citizens. This award was established in 1965 and named after one of the founders of the Chilean ...

(Chile), Golden Medal of the Minister of Culture (Armenia), Commander of the

Order of the Lion of Finland The Order of the Lion of Finland ( fi, Suomen Leijonan ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Lejons orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. The President ...

; Thorunium Medal * 2009:

Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg The Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (French: ''Ordre de Mérite du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg'') is an order of merit of Luxembourg, instituted on 23 January 1961 by Grand Duchess Charlotte. Grand Master of the order is the Grand ...

; Merit of Armenia * 2011: Viadrina Prize for contributions to Polish-German cooperation (

Viadrina European University European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) (german: Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)) is a university located at Frankfurt (Oder) in Brandenburg, Germany. It is also known as the University of Frankfurt (Oder). The city is on the ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

); Grand Cross of the Order pro Merito Melitensi (Malta) * 2012: Paszport Polityki Award * 2014:

Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana ( et, Maarjamaa Risti teenetemärk, sometimes translated as the Order of the Cross of St. Mary's Land) was instituted by the President of Estonia, Lennart Meri, on 16 May 1995 to honour the independence of t ...

, 1st Class (Estonia) * 2015: Per Artem ad Deum Medal * 2017: Grammy for Best Choral Performance; New Culture of New Europe Award at the Krynica Economic Forum. Penderecki was an honorary doctor and honorary professor of several universities:

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

, Washington, D.C.,

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...

, Fryderyk Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw, Seoul National University, Universities of

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

, Leuven, Belgrade,

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

, Poznan and St. Olaf College (

Northfield, Minnesota Northfield is a city in Dakota and Rice counties in the State of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 census. History Northfield was platted in 1856 by John W ...

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit , image = Holy Gh ...

Pontifical Catholic University of Peru Pontifical Catholic University of Peru ( es, link=no, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, PUCP) is a private university in Lima, Peru. It was founded in 1917 with the support and approval of the Catholic Church, being the oldest private ...

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

(PA), University of St. Petersburg,

Beijing Conservatory The Central Conservatory of Music () is a prestigious leading public music school of China and a member of Double First Class University Plan and former Project 211. Its campus is in the Xicheng District of Beijing, China, near Fuxingmen Stati ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

and Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität in Münster (Westphalia) (2006 Faculty of Arts). He was an honorary member of the following academies and music companies: Royal Academy of Music (London),

Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia ( en, National Academy of St Cecilia) is one of the oldest musical institutions in the world, founded by the papal bull ''Ratione congruit'', issued by Sixtus V in 1585, which invoked two saints pro ...

(Rome),

Royal Swedish Academy of Music The Royal Swedish Academy of Music ( sv, Kungliga Musikaliska Akademien), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. At the time of its foundation, only one of its co-founder was a professional musician, Ferdin ...

(Stockholm), Academy of Arts (London), Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes (Buenos Aires), the

Society of Friends of Music The Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien (), also known as the Wiener Musikverein (German for 'Viennese Music Association'), is an Austrian music organization that was founded in 1812 by Joseph Sonnleithner, general secretary of the Court Theat ...

in Vienna, Academy of Arts in Berlin, Académie Internationale de Philosophie et de l'Art in Bern, and the Académie Nationale des Sciences, Belles-lettres et Arts in Bordeaux. In 2009, he became an honorary citizen of the city of Bydgoszcz.

References

Sources

External links

"Penderecki's violin revolution in Poland"
(Drowned In Sound, 2012)

by Bruce Duffie (March 2000)
Interview with Krzysztof Penderecki
by Galina Zhukova (2011), Журнал ''reMusik'', Saint-Petersburg Contemporary Music Center.
"Krzysztof Penderecki: Turning history into avant-garde".
Video interview by

Louisiana Channel Louisiana Channel is a non-profit web-TV channel based at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebaek, Denmark. By the end of the first year, 28 November 2013, Louisiana Channel had published 130 videos featuring international artists, film m ...

, Denmark, 2013. *
Krzysztof Penderecki
Culture.pl
Krzysztof Penderecki's biography
on Cdmc website * *
Not Just 'The Shining': 13 Soundtracks Featuring Krzysztof Penderecki
on Culture.pl
Musical Trace
Pendereckis' film & theatre music (Polish only)
Penderecki's Garden
digital garden from the

Adam Mickiewicz Institute The Adam Mickiewicz Institute ( pl, Instytut Adama Mickiewicza) is a government-sponsored organization funded by Poland's Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, and headquartered at ''ulica Mokotowska 25'' (the Sugar Palace) in Warsaw. Nam ...

launched on 29 March 2021 for the anniversary of his death. {{DEFAULTSORT:Penderecki, Krzysztof 1933 births 2020 deaths People from Dębica 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers Microtonal composers Polish classical composers Polish male classical composers Polish conductors (music) Male conductors (music) Polish opera composers Male opera composers Polish people of Armenian descent Polish people of German descent Yale School of Music faculty Grammy Award winners Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts Members of the Academy of Arts, Berlin Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music Alumni of the Academy of Music in Kraków Academics of the Academy of Music in Kraków Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Prix Italia winners Wolf Prize in Arts laureates Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1944–1989) Recipients of the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Recipients of the Praemium Imperiale Recipients of the Grand Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria Officers of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters EMI Classics and Virgin Classics artists Emmy Award winners Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres People associated with Dublin City University Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 1st Class Recipients of the Order pro Merito Melitensi International Rostrum of Composers prize-winners Herder Prize recipients 20th-century conductors (music) 21st-century conductors (music) Folkwang University of the Arts faculty 20th-century male musicians 21st-century male musicians Recipients of the State Award Badge (Poland) Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) People from Bydgoszcz