Krzysztof Penderecki

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Arts & Culture

Krzysztof Penderecki

Polish composer

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Apr 1, 2024 • Article History

Krzysztof Penderecki

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Category: Arts & Culture

Born:: November 23, 1933, Debica, Poland

Died:: March 29, 2020, Kraków (aged 86)

Awards And Honors:: Praemium Imperiale (2004); Grammy Award (1998); Grammy Award (1987)

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Krzysztof Penderecki (born November 23, 1933, Debica, Poland—died March 29, 2020, Kraków) was an outstanding Polish composer of his generation whose novel and masterful treatment of orchestration won worldwide acclaim. Penderecki studied composition at the Superior School of Music in Kraków (graduated 1958) and subsequently became a professor there. He first drew attention in 1959 at the third Warsaw Festival of Contemporary Music, where his Strophes for soprano, speaker, and 10 instruments was performed. The following year was marked by the performances of both Anaklasis and the Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima for 52 strings. The Threnody illustrates Penderecki’s ...(100 of 389 words)

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