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The Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki studied composition at the Krakow Academy of Music where he was subsequently appointed as professor in 1958. One year later, Penderecki won all three available prizes at the II Warsaw Competition for Young Composers.
To date, Penderecki  has composed  over 130 works  - some of these are in remembrance of catastrophes in the 20th century. Threnos for 52 string instruments, is dedicated to the victims of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and the piano concerto Resurrection was composed as a reaction to the terror attacks of 11 September 2001.
Numerous compositions from a variety of genres originated from direct cooperation with outstanding soloists including Anne-Sophie Mutter, Mstislav Rostropovitsch and Boris Pergamenschikow. 

In this week’s Inspired Minds Krzysztof Penderecki talks to Breandáin O’Shea about his special relationship with the music of Beethoven, how his music is often inspired by his encounters with other musicians and how his Christmas Symphony came to contain a motif from “Silent Night.”