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5 unusual facts about Krzysztof Penderecki


Concerto grosso

In the twentieth century, the concerto grosso has been used by composers such as Igor Stravinsky, Ernest Bloch, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Bohuslav Martinů, Malcolm Williamson, Henry Cowell, Alfred Schnittke, William Bolcom, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Andrei Eshpai, Eino Tamberg, Krzysztof Penderecki, Jean Françaix and Philip Glass.

Jean-Joseph Surin

Krzysztof Penderecki wrote an opera, The Devils of Loudun (Die Teufel von Loudun) in 1969.

Jerzy Knetig

Recently Knetig took part in the official inauguration concert of the "Krzysztof Penderecki year" at the Kraków Philharmonic, conducted by Jan Krentz (Beethoven's Ninth Symphony).

Michel Rubini

This 1983 score is a good example of very dark 1980s electronic music (created using synthesizers and synclavier II) inspired by the work of Krzysztof Penderecki and György Ligeti.

The Devils of Loudun

There is also an opera based on the book, Die Teufel von Loudun, by Krzysztof Penderecki, available on DVD.


Bel Canto Chorus

Hynson complemented well-known choral works such as Haydn's Creation and Brahms' Requiem with new and less-known choral works, such as Penderecki's Agnus Dei and Ariel Ramírez's Missa Criolla.

Bogusław Schaeffer

Bogusław Julien Schaeffer (also Schäffer) (b. June 6, 1929 in Lwów) (now Lviv, Ukraine) is a Polish composer, musicologist, and graphic artist, a member of the avantgarde "Cracow Group" of Polish composers alongside Krzysztof Penderecki and others.

Charles Manson Superstar

Olivier Messiaen's "Death and Resurrection," Bobby Beausoleil's "Lucifer Rising," Krzysztof Penderecki's "Apocalypsis," and Anton LaVey's "The Satanic Mass," and Manson's own songs "Clang Bang Clang" and "Mechanical Man" from the album LIE The Love and Terror Cult, were played during the film.

Clytus Gottwald

Among the composers who wrote music for the ensemble are Pierre Boulez, Brian Ferneyhough, Vinko Globokar, Gérard Grisey, Heinz Holliger, Mauricio Kagel, Helmut Lachenmann, György Ligeti, Krzysztof Penderecki, Steve Reich, Dieter Schnebel, and Hans Zender.

Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition

1999: Krzysztof Penderecki (composer & conductor), Anne-Sophie Mutter & the London Symphony Orchestra for Penderecki: Violin Concerto No. 2, Metamorphosen

Jadwiga Kotnowska

In her native Poland she is usually the soloist of choice for premieres of flute concerti of contemporary composers such as K. Penderecki, H.M.Górecki and others.

Jeffrey Douma

Choirs under his direction have appeared in Leipzig's Neue Gewandhaus, Prague's Dvorak Hall, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Sydney Town Hall, Christchurch Cathedral, Avery Fisher Hall, and Carnegie Hall, and he has prepared choruses for performances under such conductors as Valery Gergiev, Sir David Willcocks, Nicholas McGegan, Krzysztof Penderecki, Sir Neville Marriner, and Helmuth Rilling.

Kenneth Jennings

Jennings prepared the choir to record Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe with the Minnesota Orchestra under the direction of Stanisław Skrowaczewski, and during his tenure, he arranged for several notable conductors to rehearse and lead the St. Olaf Choir in concert, including Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki, Bach specialist Helmuth Rilling, British organist Simon Preston, and Robert Shaw.

Libera Me

In addition to the Gregorian chant in the Roman Gradual, many composers have written settings for the text, including Tomás Luis de Victoria, Anton Bruckner, Giuseppe Verdi, Gabriel Fauré, Maurice Duruflé, Benjamin Britten, Krzysztof Penderecki and David Maslanka.

Martin Fröst

Other composers who have written specially for Martin Fröst are: Krzysztof Penderecki, Kalevi Aho, Rolf Martinsson, Bent Sørensen, Victoria Borisova-Ollas, Karin Rehnqvist and Sven-David Sandström.

Philharmonischer Chor München

The choir collaborates with the orchestra Münchner Philharmoniker, and has been conducted by prominent conductors such as Gustav Mahler, Hans Pfitzner, Krzysztof Penderecki, Rudolf Kempe, Herbert von Karajan, Sergiu Celibidache, Carlo Maria Giulini, Seiji Ozawa, Zubin Mehta, Lorin Maazel, Mariss Jansons, James Levine.

Vytautas Barkauskas

He was one of the most active avant-garde composers in Lithuania in the 1960s, influenced by Krzysztof Penderecki, Witold Lutosławski and György Ligeti.


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