The Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków ( pl, Akademia Muzyczna im. Krzysztofa Pendereckiego w Krakowie) is a conservatory located in central

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. It is the '' alma mater'' of the renowned Polish contemporary composer

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best known works include ''Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', '' Polish Requiem'', ' ...

, who was also its rector for 15 years. The Academy is the only one in Poland to have two winners of the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw (

Halina Czerny-Stefańska Halina Czerny-Stefańska ( �xaˈlina t͡ʂɛrnɨ stɛˈfaj᷉ska31 December 19221 July 2001) was a Polish pianist. Life She studied piano under her father, Stanisław Szwarcenberg-Czerny, as well as with Alfred Cortot at the École Normale de ...

and

Adam Harasiewicz Adam Harasiewicz (born 1 July 1932) is a Polish classical concert pianist. Harasiewicz was born in Chodziez, Poland. After studying violin for two months, at the age of 10 he began piano study, and at age 15 he obtained first prize in a contest ...

) as well as a few further prize-winners among its alumni.

Historical background

The academy was founded in 1888 by the eminent Polish composer Władysław Żeleński thanks to his artistic connections and patronage of Princess

Marcelina Czartoryska Princess Marcelina Czartoryska, née Radziwiłł (18 May 1817 in Podłużne − 5 June 1894 in Kraków) was a prominent Polish aristocrat and pianist. Life Born into the mighty Polish magnate family, the Radziwiłłs, in 1840 she married Aleksan ...

, a concert pianist and former pupil of

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

. Until 1945 it operated as a conservatory under the name of ''Conservatory of the Music Society'' or, the ''Cracow Conservatory''. During the

partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...

, as the region of

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a ...

and Kraków was ruled by the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central- Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

– in the late 18th century, it was necessary to gain the consent of the Austrian administration and meet the imperial requirements set for all conservatoires. The newly opened school was inspected by Joseph Dachs and Johann Fuchs, both professors of the Vienna Conservatoire, and received their enthusiastic opinion. It enjoyed a period of great growth in the twenty years between the two wars under directors Wiktor Barabasz and Boleslaw Wallek-Walewski. The professorial staff included such names as

Zbigniew Drzewiecki Zbigniew Drzewiecki (; 8 April 189011 April 1971) was a Polish pianist who was for most of his life a teacher of pianists. He was especially associated with the interpretation of Frédéric Chopin's works. His pupils include several famous pianist ...

, Jan Gall,

Zdzisław Jachimecki Zdzisław Jachimecki ( Lwów, 7 July 1882 – 27 October 1953, Kraków) was a Polish historian of music, composer, professor at the Jagiellonian University and the Kraków Music Academy, and member of the Polish Academy of Learning. Life Bor ...

Egon Petri Egon Petri (23 March 188127 May 1962) was a Dutch pianist. Life and career Petri's family was Dutch. He was born a Dutch citizen but in Hanover, Germany, and grew up in Dresden, where he attended the Kreuzschule. His father, a professional vio ...

and

Severin Eisenberger Severin Eisenberger ( pl, Seweryn Eisenberger; 1879 in Krakau, Austrian Galicia – 1945 in New York) was a Polish concert pianist, composer and teacher. Eisenberger was a student of Heinrich Ehrlich in Berlin and Theodor Leschetizky in Vienn ...

. Closed during the Nazi occupation of 1939-1945, especially after

Sonderaktion Krakau ''Sonderaktion Krakau'' was a German operation against professors and academics of the Jagiellonian University and other universities in German-occupied Kraków, Poland, at the beginning of World War II. It was carried out as part of the much bro ...

in 1939, the conservatoire continued its activity underground and finally reopened on 1 September 1945, becoming the State Higher School of Music as of 1 February 1946 under its first rector, Prof.

. In 1979 it gained the rank of an Academy of Music. On 1 October 2000 the academy inaugurated its new premises at 41-43, St. Thomas Street (ul. Sw. Tomasza).

Structure

Composition, Interpretation and Music Education Faculty

*Composition Department *Conducting Department *Music Theory and Interpretation Department *Music and Education Research Department *Choral Department *Religious Music Department *Electroacoustic Music Studio

Instrumental Faculty

*Piano Department *Organ Department *Early Music Department *Guitar and Harp Department *Violin and Viola Department *Cello and Double Bass Department *Woodwinds and Accordicon Department *Brass Department *Jazz Department *Percussion and Contemporary Music Department *Chamber Music Department

Voice and Drama Faculty

*Voice Department

People associated with the academy

Notable alumni

''The list does not include graduates who later became staff of the Academy.'' *

Sylvia Čápová-Vizváry Sylvia Čápová-Vizváry M. A., ArtD. (; born March 12, 1947 in Szombathely, Hungary) is a Slovakian pianist. Early life Čápová learned the basics of piano playing from her mother Gizela, a piano teacher. From childhood onwards, her abilitie ...

, pianist *

(pianist) * Janina Garscia (composer) *

(pianist) * Jan Hoffman (pianist) *

Kazimierz Kord Kazimierz Kord (18 November 1930 – 29 April 2021) was a Polish conductor. Between 1949 and 1955, he studied piano at the Leningrad Conservatory. He also studied at the Academy of Music in Kraków. He held major conducting positions with the ...

(conductor) * Adam Kopyciński (conductor) * Abel Korzeniowski (film music composer) * Waldemar Maciszewski (pianist) * Władysława Markiewiczówna (pianist) *

Elżbieta Szmytka Elżbieta Szmytka (born 1956) is a Polish operatic soprano. She has appeared internationally, including at the Vienna State Opera, where she performed Mozart roles such as Blonde in ''Die Entführung aus dem Serail'' and Despina in '' Così fa ...

(soprano) *

Wacław Kiełtyka Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka (born 17 December 1981) is a Polish musician, best known as the guitarist of the death metal band Decapitated. In addition to Decapitated, Wacław has been the guitarist of Lux Occulta since 1998, as well as a former memb ...

(accordionist, guitarist) ;From postgraduate studies: *

Lidia Grychtołówna Lidia Grychtołówna (born 1928 in Rybnik) is a Polish pianist. In 1955 she was awarded the V International Chopin Piano Competition's 7th prize, and one year later she shared the 3rd prize of the inaugural edition of the Robert Schumann Compet ...

(pianist) *

Wojciech Kilar Wojciech Kilar (; 17 July 1932 – 29 December 2013) was a Polish classical and film music composer. One of his greatest successes came with his score to Francis Ford Coppola's '' Bram Stoker's Dracula'' in 1992, which received the ASCAP Award a ...

(composer) * Marzena Diakun (conductor)

Notable faculty

Academics before World War II

:* Jan Gall :*

Academics after 1945

Also graduated from the Academy: * Marcel Chyrzyński (composer) * Jerzy Katlewicz (conductor) * Krzysztof Meyer (composer) *

(composer) *

Andrzej Pikul Andrzej Pikul (born 7 June, 1954, in Krosno) is a Polish pianist. Life and career Pikul graduated from the Academy of Music in Kraków, where he studied under Tadeusz Żmudziński, and from the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vi ...

(pianist) * Paweł Przytocki (conductor) * Bogusław Schaeffer (composer) *

Stanisław Skrowaczewski Stanislaw Pawel Stefan Jan Sebastian Skrowaczewski (; October 3, 1923 – February 21, 2017) was a Polish-American classical conductor and composer. Biography Skrowaczewski was born in Lwów, Second Polish Republic (now Lviv, Ukraine). His pa ...

(conductor) * Regina Smendzianka (pianist) * Jadwiga Szamotulska (pianist) ;Non-graduates: *

Peter Holtslag Peter Holtslag (born 1957 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch recorder and flauto traverso virtuoso. Holtslag studied recorder at the Sweelinck Conservatorium in Amsterdam (now Conservatorium van Amsterdam), Frans Brüggen being his great inspiration, grad ...

(recorder and flauto traverso player) *

Stefan Kisielewski Stefan Kisielewski (7 March 1911 in Warsaw – 27 September 1991 in Warsaw, Poland), nicknames Kisiel, Julia Hołyńska, Teodor Klon, Tomasz Staliński, was a Polish writer, publicist, composer and politician, and one of the members of Znak, one ...

(composer) *

Bolesław Kon Bolesław Kon (9 December 190610 June 1936) was a Polish concert pianist who won international acclaim in his brief career. Kon was born into a poor Jewish family in Warsaw. He began his piano training aged about 10, at the Moscow Conservatory u ...

(pianist) *

Roman Palester Roman Palester (28 December 1907 – 25 August 1989) was a Polish composer of classical music. Palester composed his most significant work during the 1960s and was the first Polish musician to be awarded the Alfred Jurzykowski Prize in 1964.

(composer) *

Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń (Bulgarian: Екатерина Попова) (born 30 April 1948 in Sofia) is a Polish pianist of Bulgarian descent. She studied at the Poznań Music Academy, then graduated with honours from the State High School of Mu ...

(pianist) * Ada Sari (singer) * Jadwiga Szamotulska (pianist) * Eugenia Umińska (violinist) *

Bolesław Woytowicz Bolesław Woytowicz (5 December 189911 June 1980) was a Polish pianist and composer. Woytowicz was born in Dunaivtsi. In 1924 he was appointed a piano and music theory teacher in the Warsaw Conservatory, where he had been trained under Aleksander ...

(composer and pianist) * Tadeusz Żmudziński (pianist)

Doctors ''honoris causa''

* 1994 –

* 1997 –

Paul Sacher Paul Sacher (28 April 190626 May 1999) was a Swiss conductor, patron and billionaire businessperson. At the time of his death Sacher was majority shareholder of pharmaceutical company Hoffmann-La Roche and was considered the third richest person i ...

* 2001 – Mieczysław Tomaszewski * 2003 –

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 ...

* 2005 – Peter Lukas Graf * 2007 – Krystyna Moszumańska-Nazar * 2008 –

Henryk Mikołaj Górecki Henryk may refer to: * Henryk (given name) * Henryk, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, a village in south-central Poland * Henryk Glacier, an Antarctic glacier See also * Henryk Batuta hoax The Henryk Batuta hoax was a hoax perpetrated on the Polish ...

* 2013 –

Paul Badura-Skoda Paul Badura-Skoda (6 October 1927 – 25 September 2019) was an Austrian pianist. Career A student of Edwin Fischer, Badura-Skoda first rose to prominence by winning first prize in the Austrian Music Competition in 1947. In 1949, he perform ...

* 2015 –

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...

* 2016 - Kaja Danczowska * 2017 - Iwan Monighetti * 2019 - Barbara Świątek-Żelazna * 2022 -

Anne-Sophie Mutter Anne-Sophie Mutter (born 29 June 1963) is a German violinist. She was supported early in her career by Herbert von Karajan. As an advocate of contemporary music, she has had several works composed especially for her, by Sebastian Currier, Henr ...

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Academy of Music in Krakow Universities and colleges in Kraków Music schools in Poland Educational institutions established in 1888 1888 establishments in Austria-Hungary