Krzysztof Penderecki

Born November 23, 1933 in Dębica (opens in a new tab), 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 (opens in a new tab) in Kraków. Later, he joined the staff of the school as a teacher of composition. His first major success came in 1959 when "Strofy" (opens in a new tab), "Emanacje" (opens in a new tab) and "Psalmy Dawida" (opens in a new tab) were awarded the top three prizes at a competition organized by the Związek Kompozytorów Polskich (opens in a new tab).
Soon afterwards he came to the attention of publisher Hermann Moeck (opens in a new tab) and, director of the music division at SWF (opens in a new tab). As the director of the Donaueschingen Music Days (opens in a new tab), 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.