Around the Music Festival

The state funeral of Krzysztof Penderecki, one of Poland’s leading post-war composers, took place in his hometown of Krakow on 29 March, the anniversary of his death. The mass, which had been postponed due to the global outbreak of the Pandemic of COVID-19.

The mass was held at St Peter and St Paul’s Church, attended by President Anjay Duda and other ministers, as well as Mrs Erzbieta and relatives. In the mass, The music from Symphony No. 7 “The Seven Gates of Jerusalem”, “Serenade” and “Polish Requiem” were performed.

The violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, who has been a friend of the composer for 25 years and to whom he has dedicated works, also performed Bach-Gounod’s “Ave Maria”.

Penderecki died on 29 March 2020 in his hometown of Krakow at the age of 86. He composed more than 150 orchestral works and instrumental concertos, including his masterpiece “To the victims of Hiroshima – Threnody”, four operas and eight symphonies. He also had a major influence on film music and won the Grammy Awards four times.

A state funeral was held in Krakow for the first time since the composer Karol Szymanowski in 1937. He died in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 29 March, the same day as Penderecki.

After the mass, an urn containing the composer’s ashes was placed in the National Pantheon. A special programme was broadcast in the Polish media, as well as a live broadcast on YouTube.

Photo：Gość Niedzielny　/　Adam Wojnar