Krzysztof Penderecki

Krzysztof Penderecki was one of Poland's pre-eminent late 20th century composers – for a time, the most radical member of the group of composers (including Lutoslawski, Panufnik, Bacewicz and Gorecki) who have sometimes been described as the "Polish Renaissance". His boyhood was scarred by the German occupation and the subsequent Communist takeover of Poland, and throughout his career, he kicked against the dominant order, artistic or political. His searing modernist string orchestra work Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima (1960) brought him international acclaim and was followed in 1966 by the massive choral St Luke Passion, whose raw communicative power and religious text challenged modernist and Communist doctrine alike. His opera The Devils of Loudun (1969) was performed across Europe. From 1973 he was able to work freely in the West, and in his Violin Concerto No.1 (1977), his symphonies Nos 2-8 (1980-2005) and his Horn Concerto (2008), he turned from avant-garde modernism toward an equally personal musical language grounded in late-Romantic tonality. In his later years, Penderecki came to be viewed as an elder statesman of European music, but his youthful masterpieces have had an influence far beyond the classical concert hall, inspiring movie directors such as Stanley Kubrick and rock groups ranging from Led Zeppelin to Radiohead.