Krzysztof Penderecki

Born November 23, 1933 in Dębica, Poland, died March 29, 2020 in Kraków. Polish composer and conductor. He studied composition privately with Franciszek Skołyszewski and then (1954–58) with Artur Malawski and Stanisław Wiechowicz at the Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Muzyczna in Kraków. Later, he joined the staff of the school as a teacher of composition. His first major success came in 1959 when "Strofy", "Emanacje" and "Psalmy Dawida" were awarded the top three prizes at a competition organized by the Związek Kompozytorów Polskich. Soon afterwards he came to the attention of publisher Hermann Moeck and Heinrich Strobel, director of the music division at SWF. As the director of the Donaueschingen Music Days, Strobel commissioned several of Penderecki's works and Penderecki earned subsequently a reputation as one of the most innovative composers of his generation, especially for his experiments in notation, the perception of time, and extended instrumental techniques.