What is Krzysztof Penderecki?

Krzysztof Penderecki (IPA: [ˈkʂɨʂtɔf pɛndɛrˈɛ͡tski], born November 23, 1933 in Dębica) is a Polish composer and conductor of classical music.

Career

Early years

After taking private composition lessons with Franciszek Skolyszewski, Penderecki studied music at Krakow University and the Academy of Music in Krakow under Artur Malawski and Stanislaw Wiechowicz. After graduating in 1958, he took up a teaching post at the Academy. Penderecki's early works show the influence of Anton Webern and Pierre Boulez (he has also been influenced by Igor Stravinsky). Penderecki's international recognition began in 1959 at the Warsaw Autumn Festival with the premieres of the works Strophen, Psalms of David, and Emanations, but the piece that truly brought him to international attention was Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima (see threnody and Hiroshima), written for 52 string instruments. In it, Penderecki makes use of extended instrumental techniques (for example, playing on the "wrong" side of the bridge, bowing on the tailpiece). There are many novel textures in the work, which makes great use of tone clusters (notes close together played at the same time). See sound mass. The work was originally titled 8' 37", perhaps in a nod to John Cage, but Penderecki changed the title after his publisher suggested he give it a more colorful name.

The St. Luke Passion

The St. Luke Passion (1963–66) brought Penderecki further popular acclaim, not least because it was a major, devoutly religious work, written in an avant-garde musical language, composed within Communist Eastern Europe. Western audiences saw it as a snub to the Soviet authorities and were keen to give it their support. Various different musical styles can be seen in the piece. The experimental textures, such as were seen in the Threnody, are balanced by the baroque form of the work and the occasional use of more traditional harmonic and melodic 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 towards the end of the piece concludes on a simple major 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.

1970s-present

Around the mid-1970s, while he was a professor at the Yale School of Music ^[1] Penderecki's style began to change. The Violin Concerto No. 1 largely leaves behind the dense tone clusters with which he had been associated, and instead focuses on two melodic intervals: the semitone and the tritone. Some commentators went so far as to compare this new direction to Anton Bruckner. This direction continued with the Symphony No. 2, Christmas (1980), which is rather straightforward from a harmonic and melodic standpoint for a composer who had been one of the most experimental in Europe. It makes frequent use of the tune of the Christmas carol, Silent Night.

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 at anti-government riots there in 1970. Penderecki responded with the Lacrimosa, which he later expanded into one of the best known works of his later period, the Polish Requiem (1980-84, revised 1993). Here again the harmonies are quite lush, although there are moments which evoke his earlier work in the 1960s. The tendency in recent years has been towards more conservative romanticism, however, as seen in works like the Cello Concerto No. 2 and the Credo.

Some of Penderecki's music has been adapted for film soundtracks. Portions of the 1971 Cello Concerto have been used in both The Shining and The Exorcist. In 1991 the Manic Street Preachers used a sample of Threnody To The Victims Of Hiroshima in the intro of their single You Love Us (Heavenly Version). More recently, director David Lynch made extensive use of Penderecki's music in his 2006 film Inland Empire. Kosmognia also features on the soundtrack to Lynch's 1990 film Wild at Heart. In 2001, Penderecki was awarded with 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. Penderecki received an honorary doctorate from the University of Münster, Germany in 2006. His notable students include Chester Biscardi and Walter Mays.

Sound files

Year	Song title	Work	Instrumentation
1968:	"Miserere mei, Deus" Listen (helpinfo)	Saint Luke Passion	Chorus

Work

Operas

• The Devils of Loudun (Die Teufel von Loudun, 1968-69), based on the nonfiction book of the same name by Aldous Huxley .
• Paradise Lost (1975-78), based on the epic poem by John Milton
• Die schwarze Maske (The Black Mask) (1984-86)
• Ubu Rex (1990-01)

Symphonies

• Symphony No. 1 (1973)
• Symphony No. 2 Christmas (1980)
• Symphony No. 3 (1988-1995)
• Symphony No. 4 Adagio (1989), winner of the 1992 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition
• Symphony No. 5 Korean (1991-2)
• Symphony No. 6 (in progress)
• Symphony No. 7 Seven Gates of Jerusalem (1996), for voices and orchestra
• Symphony No. 8 Lieder der Vergänglichkeit (2004-05), for voices and orchestra

Orchestral

• Emanations (Emanacje, 1959) for two string orchestras
• Anaklasis (1959) for strings and percussion
• Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima (Tren Ofiarom Hiroszimy, 1960) for 52 string instruments, probably Penderecki's best known piece
• Polymorphia (1961) for 48 string instruments
• Fluorescences (Fluorescencje, 1961-62) for orchestra
• Canon (1962) for string orchestra
• Three Pieces in the Old Style (1963, music for The Manuscript Found in Saragossa film)
• De Natura Sonoris No. 1 (1966)
• Pittsburgh Overture (1967) for wind band
• Kosmognia (1970)
• De Natura Sonoris No. 2 (1971)
• Prélude (1971) for winds, percussion and double basses
• Actions (1971) for jazz orchestra
• Intermezzo (1973) for 24 strings
• The Dream of Jacob (1974)
• Adagietto from Paradise Lost (1979)
• Sinfonietta No. 1, for string orchestra (1992, arranged from String Trio)
• Sinfonietta No. 2, for clarinet and strings (1994, arranged from Clarinet Quartet)
• Music from Ubu Rex (1994)
• Entrata (1994), for small wind band
• Burlesque Suite from Ubu Rex (1995) for large wind band
• Serenade, for string orchestra (1996-97)
• Luzerner Fanfare (1998), for eight trumpets and percussion
• Fanfarria Real (2003)

Concertante

• Piano:
• Piano Concerto, Resurrection (2001-02)
• Violin:
• Capriccio for violin and orchestra (1967)
• Violin Concerto No. 1 (1976-77, revised 1987)
• Violin Concerto No. 2 Metamorphosen (1992–5)
• Viola:
• Viola Concerto (1983, also version with clarinet, version with cello, version with chamber orchestra)
• Cello:
• Sonata for cello and orchestra (1964)
• Cello Concerto No. 1 (1972)
• Cello Concerto No. 2 (1982)
• Concerto Grosso No. 1, for three cellos and orchestra (2000-01)
• Largo for cello and orchestra (2003)
• Flute:
• Fonogrammi for flute and chamber orchestra (1961)
• Flute Concerto, for flute and chamber orchestra (1992)
• Oboe:
• Capriccio, for oboe and eleven strings (1964)
• Clarinet:
• Concerto Grosso No. 2, for five clarinets and orchestra (2004)
• Others:
• Partita for harpsichord, electric guitar, bass guitar, harp, double bass and orchestra (1971, revised 1991)
• Music for alto flute, marimba and strings (2000)

Vocal/Choral

• Psalms of David (1958)
• Strophen (1959) for soprano, speaker and ten instruments
• Dimensions of Time and Silence (1959-61)
• Stabat Mater (1962)
• Cantata (1964)
• St. Luke Passion (1965)
• Dies Irae (1967)
• Kosmogonia (1970)
• Utrenja (Morning Prayer) (1969-71)
• Ecloga VIII (1972)
• Canticum Canticorum Salomonis (1970-73)
• Magnificat (1973-74)
• Te Deum (1979)
• Agnus Dei (1981)
• Polish Requiem (1980-84, revised 1993 and 2006 after John Paul II death)
• Song of Cherubim (1986)
• Veni creator (1987)
• Benedicamus Domino (1992)
• Benedictus (1993)
• Agnus Dei (1995, from the Requiem of Reconciliation)
• De Profundis (1996)
• Hymne an den heiligen Daniel (1997)
• Hymne an den heiligen Adalbert (1997)
• Credo (1997-98)
• Benedictus (2002)

Chamber

• String Quartet No. 1 (1960)
• String Quartet No. 2 (1968)
• Der unterbrochene Gedanke, for string quartet (1988)
• String Trio (1991)
• Clarinet Quartet (1993)
• Sextet (2000)

Instrumental

• Violin
• Violin Sonata No. 1 (1953)
• Violin Sonata No. 2 (1999)
• Three Miniatures for violin and piano (1959)
• Cadenza, for solo viola (1984)
• Cello
• Capriccio per Siegfried Palm, for solo cello (1968)
• Per Slava, for solo cello (1986)
• Divertimento, for solo cello (1994)
• Clarinet
• Three Miniatures, for clarinet and piano (1956)
• Prelude, for solo clarinet (1987)
• Capriccio, for solo tuba (1980)

Sources

• Penderecki, Krzysztof by Adrian Thomas, in 'The New Grove Dictionary of Opera', ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) ISBN 0-333-73432-7

External links

• Penderecki page at the Polish Music Center
• Penderecki homepage maintained by Schott Music publishers
• Sheet Music - 3 Miniatures For Clarinet with Piano. Krzysztof Penderecki

References

•  • [ e] Wolf Prize in Arts Laureates
Architecture	Ralph Erskine (1983) • Fumihiko Maki / Giancarlo De Carlo (1988) • Frank Gehry / Jrn Utzon / Denys Lasdun (1992) • Frei Otto / Aldo van Eyck (1996) • lvaro Siza Vieira (2001) • Jean Nouvel (2005)
Music	Vladimir Horowitz / Olivier Messiaen / Joseph Tal (1982) • Isaac Stern / Krzysztof Penderecki (1987) • Yehudi Menuhin / Luciano Berio (1991) • Zubin Mehta / Gyrgy Ligeti (1995) • Pierre Boulez / Riccardo Muti (2000) • Mstislav Rostropovich / Daniel Barenboim (2004)
Painting	Marc Chagall / Antoni Tpies (1981) • Jasper Johns (1986) • Anselm Kiefer (1990) • Gerhard Richter (1994) • Louise Bourgeois (2002)
Sculpture	Eduardo Chillida (1984) • Claes Oldenburg (1989) • Bruce Nauman (1993) • James Turrell (1998) • Louise Bourgeois (2002)
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