Biography
Krzysztof Penderecki (also credited as Krystof Penderecki) was a Polish composer and conductor. Born on 23 November 1933 in Dębica, he studied composition at the Academy of Music in Kraków, graduating in 1958, and later taught there. He began gaining recognition in 1959 at the Warsaw Autumn festival.
His music, including pieces such as Polymorphia and De Natura Sonoris, was used in numerous films. It featured in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980), as well as The Exorcist (1973), Wild at Heart (1990) and Children of Men (2006). He also composed original scores for Polish productions including Katyn (2007). Penderecki died on 29 March 2020 in Kraków.
