Krzysztof Penderecki

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Krzysztof Penderecki (born November 23, 1933 in Dębica) is a Polish composer and conductor of classical music.

After taking private composition lessons with Franciszek Skolyszewski, Penderecki studied music at Krakow University and the Krakow Academy for Music 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 premiere of 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 changed the title after his publisher suggested he give it a more colorful name.

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.

Around the mid-1970s 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 to become 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 to film tracks. Portions of the 1971 Cello Concerto have been used in both The Shining and The Exorcist.

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Works

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Operas

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Orchestral works

  • Symphonies:
    • Symphony No. 1 (1973)
    • Symphony No. 2 Christmas (1980)
    • Symphony No. 3 (1988-1995)
    • Symphony No. 4 Adagio (1989)
    • Symphony No. 5 Korean (1991-2)
    • Symphony No. 7 Seven Gates of Jerusalem, for voices and orchestra
    • Symphony No. 8 Lieder der Vergänglichkeit (2004-05), for voices and orchestra
  • 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, featured on Stanley Kubrick's The Shining soundtrack, and "The Exorcist"
  • Fluorescences (Fluorescencje, 1961-62) for orchestra
  • Canon (1962) for string orchestra
  • Three Pieces in the Old Style (1963, from the music for the film Manuscript found in Saragossa)
  • De Natura Sonoris No. 1 (1966) (featured on Stanley Kubrick's The Shining soundtrack)
  • Pittsburgh Overture (1967) for wind band
  • Kosmognia (1970)
  • De Natura Sonoris No. 2 (1971) (featured on Stanley Kubrick's The Shining soundtrack)
  • 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 for string orchestra (1992, arranged from String Trio)
  • 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)
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Concertante works

  • 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 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:
    • Sinfonietta No. 2 for clarinet and strings (1994, arranged from Clarinet Quartet)
    • 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)
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Vocal works

  • Strophen (1959) for soprano, speaker and ten instruments
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Choral works

  • Psalms of David (1958)
  • 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) (featured on Stanley Kubrick's The Shining soundtrack)
  • Ecloga VIII (1972)
  • Canticum Canticorum Salomonis (1970-73)
  • Magnificat (1973-74)
  • Te Deum (1979)
  • Agnus Dei (1981)
  • Polish Requiem (1980-84, revised 1993)
  • Song of Cherubim (1986)
  • Veni creator (1987)
  • Benedicamus Domino (1992)
  • Benedictus (1993)
  • Angus Dei (1995, from the Requiem of Reconciliation)
  • De Profundis (1996)
  • Seven Gates of Jerusalem (1996, also known as Symphony No. 7)
  • Hymne an den heiligen Daniel (1997)
  • Hymne an den heiligen Adalbert (1997)
  • Credo (1997-98)
  • Benedictus (2002)
  • Symphony No. 8 Lieder der Vergänglichkeit (2004-05)
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Chamber works

  • Violin Sonata No. 1 (1953)
  • Three Miniatures for clarinet and piano (1956)
  • Three Miniatures for violin and piano (1959)
  • String Quartet No. 1 (1960)
  • String Quartet No. 2 (1968)
  • Der unterbrochene Gedanke for string quartet (1988)
  • String Trio (1991)
  • Clarinet Quartet (1993)
  • Violin Sonata No. 2 (1999)
  • Sextet (2000)
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Instrumental works

  • Capriccio per Siegfried Palm for solo cello (1968)
  • Capriccio for solo tuba (1980)
  • Cadenza for solo viola (1984)
  • Per Slava for solo cello (1986)
  • Prelude for solo clarinet (1987)
  • Divertimento for solo cello (1994)
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See also

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External links

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