Krzysztof Penderecki was a world-renowned composer, conductor, and pedagogue. Co-creator of the new wave of Polish music of the 20th century. He was one of the most outstanding and respected contemporary personalities not only in the field of music but also in culture and art in the broadest sense. In his life, Penderecki received five Grammy Awards in 1987 and double awards in 1998, 2000, and 2016.

Krzysztof Penderecki was born on 23 November 1933 in Dębica. He grew up in a family with Armenian roots. 

The composer’s avant-garde works of the 1960s, such as the ‘Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima’ and the “St. Luke Passion”, brought him popularity and international recognition. 

In the 1960s and 70s, he was an academic teacher at various music schools across the Western world.

In the 1980s, Penderecki became involved and composed music for the Solidarity trade union that was established to bring change to the communist system in Poland. 

To celebrate 3000 years of Jerusalem, he wrote Symphony No. 7 “Seven Gates of Jerusalem”. It was premiered on 9 January 1997 in Jerusalem. Also in 1997, for the millennium of Gdańsk, the cantata ‘Hymn to St Adalbert’ was written.

In April 2008, the artist received the 2008 Eagles award for his music for Andrzej Wajda’s film ‘Katyń’. Penderecki’s music has appeared in many films, including “The Saragossa Manuscript” by Wojciech Has, Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”, William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist”, and David Lynch’s “Wild at Heart”.

The artist received 24 honorary doctorates f.e, from the Jagiellonian University and Yale University, and had honorary membership in the world’s most distinguished artistic and scientific academies and associations.

Krzysztof Penderecki died on 29 March 2020.

The composer’s solemn funeral did not take place until two years after his death. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the urn containing his ashes was temporarily stored in the crypt of St Florian’s Basilica. 

On 22 March 2022, during a procession through the streets of Krakow, Krzysztof Penderecki’s remains were transferred to the National Pantheon in the crypt of the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Krakow. 

Source: Dzieje.pl

Photo: @PIASA_NY

Tomasz Modrzejewski