Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (Polish: [ˈkʂɨʂtɔf pɛndɛˈrɛt͡skʲi]; November 23, 1933 – March 29, 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His most famous works include Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima, Symphony No. 3, St Luke Passion, Polish Requiem, Anaklasis, and Utrenja. His body of work includes five operas, eight symphonies, and other orchestral pieces, a variety of instrumental concertos, choral settings of religious texts, and chamber and instrumental works.

After finishing school at the Academy of Music in Krakow, he became a teacher there and started his career as a composer in 1959 during the Warsaw Autumn festival. His piece Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima for string orchestra and the choral work St. Luke Passion are widely known. His first opera, The Devils of Loudun, was not successful even after many changes. In the mid-1970s, Penderecki became a professor at the Yale School of Music. Around this time, his style changed, with his first violin concerto focusing on the semitone and the tritone. His choral work Polish Requiem was written in the 1980s and later expanded in 1993 and 2005.

Penderecki received many awards, including the Prix Italia in 1967 and 1968; the Wihuri Sibelius Prize in 1983; four Grammy Awards in 1987, 1998 (twice), and 2017; the Wolf Prize in Arts in 1987; and the University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition in 1992. In 2020, the Academy of Music in Kraków, his alma mater, was renamed in his honor.

Early life, family and education

Krzysztof Penderecki was born on November 23, 1933, in Dębica, Poland. He was the child of Zofia and Tadeusz Penderecki, who was a lawyer. His grandfather, Michał Penderecki, was born in Tenetnyky village near Rohatyn, now part of Ukraine. Michał was part of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic church. He married Stefania Szylkiewicz, who was of Armenian descent and came from Stanislau, now known as Ivano-Frankivsk in Ukraine. The family later moved to Dębica. Other members of the Penderecki family remained connected to their Ukrainian heritage, and some still live in their original village in Ukraine. Krzysztof visited Ukraine in the 1990s and met relatives there. On his mother’s side, his grandfather, Robert Berger, was a very skilled painter and the director of a local bank when Krzysztof was born. Robert’s father, Johann, was a German Protestant who moved to Dębica from Breslau, now called Wrocław, in the mid-1800s. Johann later became a Catholic because of his love for his wife.

Krzysztof was the youngest of three children. His sister, Barbara, married a mining engineer, and his older brother, Janusz, was studying law and medicine when Krzysztof was born. Tadeusz, Krzysztof’s father, was a violinist and also played the piano.

When World War II began in 1939, Penderecki’s family left their apartment because the Ministry of Food needed to use it. After the war, Penderecki started attending grammar school in 1946. He studied the violin with Stanisław Darłak, who was the military bandmaster in Dębica and helped organize an orchestra for the local music society after the war. After finishing grammar school in 1951, Penderecki moved to Kraków, where he studied at Jagiellonian University.

At university, he studied the violin with Stanisław Tawroszewicz and music theory with Franciszek Skołyszewski. In 1954, Penderecki entered the Academy of Music in Kraków. After completing his violin studies in his first year, he focused fully on composition. His main teacher 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 continued his studies with Stanisław Wiechowicz, a composer who was known for his choral works. In 1956, the end of Stalinism in Poland reduced strict cultural rules and allowed more creative freedom in the arts.

Career

In 1958, Penderecki graduated from the Academy of Music in Kraków. He then began teaching at the same academy. His early compositions were influenced by composers such as Anton Webern, Pierre Boulez, and Igor Stravinsky. Penderecki gained international recognition in 1959 at the Warsaw Autumn festival, where he premiered works like Strophen, Psalms of David, and Emanations. However, his most famous piece from this time was Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima, written in 1960 for 52 string instruments. This work used unusual playing techniques, such as bowing behind the bridge or on the tailpiece, and included many unique sound textures. Penderecki originally named the piece 8' 37", but later changed the title to honor the victims of Hiroshima.

In 1961, Penderecki composed Fluorescences, which expanded the orchestra with more wind, brass, and an unusual percussion section of 32 instruments, including a Mexican güiro, typewriters, and gongs. The piece was performed at the Donaueschingen Festival in 1962 and caused controversy due to its use of graphic notation, a method that used shapes and lines instead of traditional musical notes. Penderecki aimed to free sound from traditional rules, a goal similar to composer John Cage.

Another notable work from this period was the Canon for 52 strings and 2 tapes. This piece used layered sound textures and included moments where musicians sang with their mouths closed. The piece was performed at the Warsaw Autumn Festival in 1962 and caused a riot, though the crowd was mostly young music students.

At the same time, Penderecki began composing for theater and film. His first theater work was Złoty kluczyk (The Golden Little Key), directed by Władysław Jarema in 1957. In 1959, he composed the music for the animated film Bulandra i diabeł (Coal Miner Bulandra and the Devil). He also wrote the score for Jan Łomnicki’s film Nie ma końca wielkiej wojny (There Is No End to the Great War) in 1959. Over the next few years, Penderecki created music for more than 20 dramatic performances, 40 puppet shows, and over 35 films for adults and children.

In 1963–1966, Penderecki composed the St. Luke Passion, a large-scale religious work that combined avant-garde techniques with traditional musical forms. The piece included a serialist structure and used the BACH motif in one of its tone rows. The work ended with a simple D major chord and later a triumphant E major chord, which were the only tonal harmonies in the piece.

Penderecki continued writing sacred music in the 1970s, including Dies irae, Magnificat, and Canticum Canticorum Salomonis for chorus and orchestra. His focus on sound led to De Natura Sonoris I (1966), which used unusual playing techniques to create new sounds. A follow-up piece, De Natura Sonoris II (1971), included more elements of post-Romantic music. These works marked the beginning of Penderecki’s shift away from avant-garde styles.

In 1968, Penderecki received the State Prize 1st Class. He was later honored with the Commander’s Cross (1974) and the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1964). In 1970, he composed Kosmogonia for the 25th anniversary of the United Nations. The piece used texts from ancient writers and modern astronauts to explore themes of the cosmos.

In the mid-1970s, while teaching at Yale School of Music, Penderecki’s style changed. His Violin Concerto No. 1 avoided dense tone clusters and focused on simple intervals like the semitone and tritone. His Symphony No. 2 (1980) used traditional harmonic structures and was nicknamed the "Christmas Symphony" because it included phrases from the carol Silent Night.

Penderecki explained that he moved away from avant-garde experimentation because he felt it had become too formal and disconnected from music’s expressive qualities. He said he returned to tradition to create more meaningful works.

In 1975, Penderecki was asked to write an opera for the US Bicentennial, which became Paradise Lost. The opera premiered in 1978 and used tonal music, a departure from his earlier experimental style. In 1980, Penderecki was commissioned by Solidarity to compose a piece for the unveiling of…

Personal life

Penderecki had three children. His first child was a daughter named Beata, born to pianist Barbara Penderecka (originally named Graca). They married in 1954 but later divorced. Penderecki then married Elżbieta Penderecka (originally named Solecka) on December 19, 1965. Together, they had two children: a son named Łukasz, born in 1966, and a daughter named Dominika, born in 1971. Penderecki lived in the suburb of Wola Justowska in Kraków. He enjoyed gardening and created a 16-hectare arboretum near his manor house in Lusławice.

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

Legacy and influence

In 1979, a bronze bust created by artist Marian Konieczny to honor Penderecki was placed in The Gallery of Composers' Portraits at the Pomeranian Philharmonic in Bydgoszcz. His monument is located on Celebrity Alley at Scout Square (Skwer Harcerski) in Kielce.

In 2021, a commemorative tree named “Penderecki’s Tree” was planted in Lumphini Park in Bangkok as part of the international “Penderecki’s Garden” initiative. This tree honors Penderecki’s life and work and reflects his interest in nature and gardening. The tree has a plaque and is part of a series of living memorials in different countries.

The Led Zeppelin guitarist and founding member Jimmy Page admired Penderecki’s groundbreaking work Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima during his teenage years. This admiration later influenced Page’s use of a violin bow on his guitar.

The composer and Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood named Penderecki as a major influence. For Radiohead’s 1997 album OK Computer, Greenwood wrote a part for 16 stringed instruments playing quarter tones apart, inspired by Penderecki. Greenwood visited Penderecki in 2012 and composed a work for strings titled 48 Responses to Polymorphia, which Penderecki conducted in performances across Europe. Penderecki acknowledged Greenwood for introducing his music to a new generation.

Works

Krzysztof Penderecki wrote music for operas, symphonies, choral pieces, and both chamber and instrumental works. Between 1959 and 1968, Penderecki created original music for at least eleven documentaries and feature films, including The Saragossa Manuscript (1965), as well as for twenty-five animated films for adults and children.

Some of Penderecki's music has been used in film soundtracks. The movie The Exorcist (1973) includes Penderecki's String Quartet and Kanon for Orchestra and Tape, as well as parts of his Cello Concerto and The Devils of Loudun. A film critic from The New Republic wrote, "The music is excellent, mostly by Krzysztof Penderecki, who finally finds his place." Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980) includes six pieces of Penderecki's music: Utrenja II: Ewangelia, Utrenja II: Kanon Paschy, The Awakening of Jacob, De Natura Sonoris No. 1, De Natura Sonoris No. 2, and Polymorphia. David Lynch used Penderecki's music in Wild at Heart (1990), Inland Empire (2006), and the TV series Twin Peaks (2017).

In the film Fearless (1993), the piece Polymorphia was used in a tense plane crash scene, shown from the passenger's perspective, played by Jeff Bridges. Penderecki's Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima was also used in one of the final scenes of the film Children of Men (2006). Penderecki wrote music for Andrzej Wajda's 2007 Academy Award-nominated film Katyń. Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island (2010) included Penderecki's Symphony No. 3 and Fluorescences.

Honors and awards

In 1959, the Polish Composers' Union held the Second Competition for Young Polish Composers in Warsaw. Penderecki won the top three prizes for three pieces he submitted without revealing his name: Stanzas, Emanations, and Psalms of David.

In 1961, Penderecki received the UNESCO International Tribune of Composers Prize in Paris for his work Threnody.

In 1966, he was awarded the Grand Art Prize of North Rhine-Westphalia for St. Luke Passion.

In 1967, he won the Prix Italia for St. Luke Passion and the Sibelius Gold Medal.

In 1968, he received the Prix Italia for Dies Irae (a piece honoring victims of Auschwitz) and the Grammy Trustees Award for significant contributions to recording.

In 1972, Penderecki was given the City of Kraków Award.

In 1977, he received the Herder Prize (Germany/Austria).

In 1978, he won the Prix Arthur Honegger for Magnificat (France).

In 1983, Penderecki received the Wihuri Sibelius Prize (Finland) and the Polish National Award.

In 1985, he was honored with the Premio Lorenzo Magnifico (Italy).

In 1987, he received the Wolf Prize in Arts (Israel) and a Grammy for Best Contemporary Composition.

In 1990, Penderecki was awarded the Grand Cross of Merit of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and became a Chevalier de Saint Georges.

In 1992, he received the University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition for Adagio – 4 Symphony, the Austrian Medal for Science and Art.

In 1993, Penderecki was given a Distinguished Citizen Fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study at Indiana University, Bloomington, the Prize of the International Music Council/UNESCO for Music, and the Cultural Merit of the Principality of Monaco.

In 1995, he became a member of the Royal Irish Academy of Music (Dublin), an honorary citizen of Strasbourg, and received the Primetime Emmy Award of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and the Pro Baltica Prize.

In 1996, Penderecki won the Primetime Emmy Award again and was named a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France).

In 1998, he received a Grammy for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance, the Composition Prize for the Promotion of the European Economy, and became a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He also became a corresponding member of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and received the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas (Lithuania).

In 1999, Penderecki was honored with the Music Prize of the City of Duisburg (Germany) and served on the Honorary Board of the Vilnius Festival '99.

In 2000, he was named the Cannes Classical Award "Living Composer of the Year," became an honorary member of the Society of Friends of Music in Vienna, and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.

In 2001, Penderecki received the Prince of Asturias Award for Art (Spain), a Grammy for Best Choral Performance for Credo, and became an Honorary Professor of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.

In 2002, he was awarded the State Prize of North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany) and the Romano Guardini Prize.

In 2003, Penderecki received the Grand Gold Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria, the Preis der Europäischen Kirchenmusik (Germany), and the Freedom of Dębica. He also received the Eduardo M. Torner Medal of the Conservatorio de Musica del Principado Asturias in Oviedo, Spain, and became the Honorary Director of the Choir of the Prince of Asturias Foundation and Honorary President of the Apayo a la Creación Musical, Judaica Foundation Medal.

In 2004, he was awarded the Praemium Imperiale – Music (Japan).

In 2005, Penderecki received the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) and the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis.

In 2006, he was given the Order of the Three Stars (Latvia), the Order of Bernardo O'Higgins (Chile), the Golden Medal of the Minister of Culture (Armenia), and the Commander of the Order of the Lion of Finland. He also received the Thorunium Medal.

In 2007, Penderecki was honored with the Order of the Three Stars (Latvia) again.

In 2008, he received the Polish Academy Award for Best Film Score for Katyn, the Commander of the Order of the Three Stars (Latvia), the Order of Bernardo O'Higgins (Chile), the Golden Medal of the Minister of Culture (Armenia), the Commander of the Order of the Lion of Finland, and the Thorunium Medal.

In 2009, Penderecki was named an honorary citizen of the city of Bydgoszcz and received the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Merit of Armenia.

In 2011, he was awarded the Viadrina Prize for contributions to Polish-German cooperation (Viadrina European University, Frankfurt) and the Grand Cross of the Order pro Merito Melitensi (Malta).

In 2012, Penderecki received the Paszport Polityki Award.

In 2014, he was honored with the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 1st Class (Estonia).

In 2015, he received the Per Artem ad Deum Medal.

In 2016, Penderecki was given the Laurel of Kraków of the 21st Century.

In 2017, he won a Grammy for Best Choral Performance and received the New Culture of New Europe Award at the Krynica Economic Forum.

Penderecki was given the