On the passing of Krzysztof Penderecki
29.03.2020
Krzysztof Penderecki, one of Poland’s greatest contemporary composers who created his own musical language by fusing together avant-garde and traditional elements, has passed away at the age of 86. He composed the “Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima” for string orchestra, the choral “St. Luke Passion” and “Polish Requiem,” as well as the “Seven Gates of Jerusalem” symphony.
Krzysztof Penderecki began his rise to fame in his adolescence when, in the 1960s, he introduced avant-garde acoustic, textural and notational solutions to his works. In later years, the celebrated composer began the process of building his own, versatile musical lexicon based in an original synthesis of rich traditional elements, from avant-garde sonorism to the neo-romantic style. His music of expressive construction and dramaturgy always carried a deeply humanistic message.
The versatility of Penderecki as a composer is evidenced by dozens of works for string orchestra, brass, solo instruments and orchestra, chamber music, avant-garde compositions for tapes, a capella choral music as well as with band or orchestral accompaniments.
Penderecki did not shirk from contact with the world of popular culture, either. His collaboration with Jonny Greenwood in 2011, the guitarist of the iconic British group Radiohead, is perhaps best known, which resulted in a number of concerts and a joint album. Penderecki's works have often been used in film production, and in this way reached wide audiences. Penderecki's works were included in such films as William Friedkin's "The Exorcist," Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining," David Lynch's "Wild at Heart," Alfonso Cuaron's "Children of Men" and Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island."
Krzysztof Penderecki received a number of prestigious awards for his works, including Prix Italia in both 1967 and 1968, and a Grammy Award in 1988, 1999 (two) and 2017. A number of universities in the world awarded him the title of doctor honoris causa, including Yale University, where he worked in the 70s, Georgetown University, Baldwin-Wallace in Ohio and Indiana University.
A vast collection of his compositional works may be found here: https://ninateka.pl/kolekcje/trzej-kompozytorzy/penderecki.