Polish Cultural Institute New York Presents Krzysztof Penderecki In Memoriam

Throughout the spring of 2021, Polish Cultural Institute New York will curate Krzysztof Penderecki in Memoriam, honoring the life and legacy of Poland’s greatest modern composer. Leading up to and beyond March 29, 2021, marking the one-year anniversary of Penderecki’s death, Polish Cultural Institute New York – in partnership with the Ludwig van Beethoven Association, DUX Records,  Naxos of America, Schott Music publishers, and Crossover Media  – will celebrate Penderecki’s life and legacy across an array of worldwide media outlets. Highlights include the Penderecki in Memoriam Podcast with in-depth interviews with artists who collaborated closely with the composer, live radio broadcasts and rebroadcasts of archived performances, live streamed concerts, and a broad presentation of the composer’s prolific oeuvre. (Please scroll down for a chronological list of events.)

Polish Cultural Institute New York’s head of music programming, Anna Perzanowska, who worked with Krzysztof Penderecki for over a decade, has been the driving force behind Krzysztof Penderecki in Memoriam since the composer’s death on March 29, 2020, at his home in Kraków, Poland. “The passing of Professor Penderecki was a deeply moving loss and a shock to all who knew him personally as well as to those who admired his work. The loss was especially poignant due to the world’s Covid-19 isolation – and I was overwhelmed by the response and eagerness of all the artists who wanted to be involved and honor his memory,” comments Perzanowska.

The Penderecki in Memoriam Podcast will present a comprehensive portrait of the composer with insightful commentary and memories from musicians, conductors, colleagues, composers, writers and historians including Barry Douglas, JoAnn Falletta, Larry Foster, Elliot Goldenthal, Jonny Greenwood, Michail Jurowski, Laura Kaminsky, Louis Langrée, David Lynch, Cindy McTee, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Kent Nagano, Rafael Payare, Julian Rachlin, Norman Ryan, Leonard Slatkin, Krzysztof Urbanski and Antoni Wit, among others.

Archival concerts from the Warsaw-based Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival, which was founded by Elzbieta Penderecka, will be made available for rebroadcast. The repertoire will include performances of Polymorphia performed by the Warsaw Philharmonic, and Adagietto from Paradise Lost performed by Sinfonia Varsovia, among others.

Concerts from the 2021 25th Jubilee Anniversary of the Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival, “Beethoven and Penderecki. The Sphere of Sacrum”, will be streamed live, including performances by the internationally renowned Silesian Quartet, a premiere performance by the Penderecki Trio, and some of Poland’s young generation of award-winning pianists, including Aleksandra Swigut, Andrzej Wiercinski and Lukasz Krupinski.

From Australia to the United Kingdom, Turkey to Canada and many other territories in between, radio, online and other media outlets will be broadcasting and celebrating Penderecki’s prolific output and legacy.

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Contact information:

Queries regarding print and online media: Melanne Mueller, Music Company International, Ltd., melanne@musiccointernational.com, 917.907.2785

Queries regarding podcasts and radio: Max Horowitz, Crossover Media, maxcrossover@gmail.com, 212.465.2444  

Queries regarding the Polish Cultural Institute New York: Klaudia Ofwona Draber, klaudia.draber@instytutpolski.pl, 202.790.9037