The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Penderecki, Krzysztof

Born Nov. 23, 1933, in Deębica. Polish composer and leading representative of the Polish avant-garde.

Penderecki teaches composition at the State Higher School of Music in Kraków, where he has been principal since 1972, and at the conservatory in Essen (Federal Republic of Germany). He experiments in sound coloring. His quest for nonmusical means of expressiveness has led him to attach great importance to rhythmic declamation; his work with “speaking choruses” emphasizes articulation, dynamics, and timbres. Penderecki makes use of sound effects and stresses percussion, especially in jazz compositions. In 1959 he began composing religious music that is tinged with “Catholic humanism” and draws upon elements of Gregorian chant. His compositions include The Psalms of David (for mixed choir and percussion; 1958), Anaklasis (for percussion and strings; 1960), Canon (for orchestra and tape recorder; 1962), The Passion According to St. Luke (1966), The Devils of Loudun (based on A. Huxley’s work; 1969), The Eighth Eclogue of Horace (for vocal ensemble; 1972), and music for films and the dramatic theater.

REFERENCE

Lisicki, K. Szkice o Krzysztofie Pendereckim. Warsaw, 1973.

Z. LISSA

References in periodicals archive

Krzysztof Penderecki's 801'1 birthday in November, 2013 was marked with a celebratory concert featuring four of his most distinguished compositions.

A Tribute to Krzysztof Penderecki: Marking the Composer's 80th Birthday

An ensemble of no less than 68 musicians will perform under the baton of maestro Krzysztof Penderecki, a noted Polish conductor and composer whose "Saint Luke Passion" played at Baalbeck in 1971.

Mika, Mahogany and classics descend on the temples

Among the highlights for this year's programme are the opening gala titled Chopin Bicentennial Celebration, which will be performed by The National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, under the guidance of composer and conductor Krzysztof Penderecki. It will feature Chopin virtuoso pianist Krzysztof Jablonski.

Abu Dhabi prepares for musical extravaganza

With: Mstislav Rostropovich, Galina Vishnevskaya, Alexander Sokurov, Krzysztof Penderecki, Seiji Ozawa.

Elegy of Life: Rostropovich. Vishnevskaya

Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Amadeus Choir, Elmer Iseler Singers, Toronto Children's Chorus Krzysztof Penderecki: Credo (Toronto premiere) and New Work (world premiere)

Choral forces: On the eve of the 3rd Annual Toronto International Choral Festival, we ask some of Canada's leading singers what makes choral works different from opera

While Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti aimed for the high notes in the Opera House, and Polish maestro Krzysztof Penderecki conducted the premiere of his Fifth Symphony over in the Orchestra Hall, Mexican juggler Arturo Alegria faced an equally tough job just across the plaza, under the tent of the Big Apple Circus.

Born to juggle

He inspired and premiered over 100 pieces and formed long-standing artistic partnerships withsuch prominent composers asDmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev, Henri Dutilleux, Witold Lutosawski, Olivier Messiaen, Luciano Berio, Krzysztof Penderecki, Alfred Schnittke, Norbert Moret, Andreas Makris and Benjamin Britten.

Moscow to host the 10th International Mstislav Rostropovich Festival

Krzysztof Penderecki is one of the musicians among his own generation to have received the most awards.

Legendary Polish composer to perform at Katara Opera

She also points out that Kubrick used music to do the opposite as well, giving the audience access to the troubling sublime and purposefully increasing their unease, as in his use of music by Krzysztof Penderecki in The Shining.

Listening to Stanley Kubrick: The Music in His Films

Dowd said his own defining moment as a percussionist came in 2001, when the Oregon Bach Festival's recording of the Credo by Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki - a work the festival had commissioned - won the Grammy for best choral performance.

THE BEAT FALLS QUIET