On 23 November, the great Polish composer and conductor would have turned 88. The Choir and Symphony Orchestra of the Academy of Music in Kraków celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Krzysztof Penderecki with a special concert at the ICE Kraków Congress Centre. The monographic repertoire includes Maestro’s Hymn to St Adalbert composed on the millenary of Gdańsk, Lacrimosa – the part that started the Polish Requiem, and the Christmas Symphony paying homage to grand, post-Romantic symphonic works in their most expressive, turbulent, tense variety.
The solo parts will be sung by Iwona Hossa, one of Krzysztof Penderecki’s favourite sopranos, who sang with him numerous times during concerts in Poland and abroad.
The outstanding composer and conductor graduated from Kraków’s Academy in 1958 and began to teach composition at his alma mater. In 1972, he became a professor there, also serving as rector until 1987.
In the history of 20th-century music, the career of Penderecki stands out for his fast rise to the top, matched by none, with the possible exception of Stravinsky. After the results of the second Competition of Young Composers of the Polish Composers' Union in 1959, he became a citizen of the world in no time. Yet, his ties to Kraków and the Academy were always close.
Krzysztof Penderecki (1933–2020)
Hymn to St Adalbert for mixed choir and orchestra
Lacrimosa for soprano, mixed choir and orchestra
Symphony No. 2 “Christmas Symphony”
Iwona Hossa – soprano
Choir of the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków
Symphony Orchestra of the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków
Maciej Tworek – conductor
