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Krzysztof Penderecki

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Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki, at the opening of a music center named after him in southeastern Poland in 2013. Janek Skarzynsky/AFP / Getty Images hide caption

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Janek Skarzynsky/AFP / Getty Images

Deceptive Cadence

Krzysztof Penderecki, Boundary-Breaking Polish Composer, Dies At 86

March 29, 2020 • Known early on for his avant-garde works, the composer's challenging music nevertheless found fans far beyond traditional classical music circles.

Krzysztof Penderecki, Boundary-Breaking Polish Composer, Dies At 86

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A Sound Of Fear, Forged In The Shadow Of War

Stanley Kubrick's The Shining strikes its terrifying tone with help from the Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki, whose music underscores several of its tensest scenes. Archive Photos/Getty Images hide caption

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Archive Photos/Getty Images

Deceptive Cadence

A Sound Of Fear, Forged In The Shadow Of War

November 23, 2013 • On the 80th birthday of Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki — whose music helped make The Shining so terrifying — NPR's Arun Rath considers how the classical music of Penderecki's generation has been shaped by real-life horror.

A Sound Of Fear, Forged In The Shadow Of War

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The Sound of Struggle Tempered With Terror: Penderecki At 80

In Penderecki's music there is a struggle between melody and dissonance. Bruno Fidrych hide caption

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Bruno Fidrych

Deceptive Cadence

The Sound of Struggle Tempered With Terror: Penderecki At 80

November 23, 2013 • If you simplified the last 100 years of music as a war between atonal and lyrical forces, Penderecki would be on the front lines of battle. Discover the great Polish composer's haunting, viscerally dramatic music in a Penderecki primer.

First Listen: Krzysztof Penderecki And Jonny Greenwood

Jonny Greenwood, AUKSO Chamber Orchestra conductor Marek Mos and Krzysztof Penderecki, on stage after a 2011 concert. Marcin Olivia Soto hide caption

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Marcin Olivia Soto

First Listen

First Listen: Krzysztof Penderecki And Jonny Greenwood

March 4, 2012 • Hear the music Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood wrote in response to one of his own favorite composers, the 79-year-old Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki — both full of noise, chaos and energy.

Hear 'Krzysztof Penderecki And Jonny Greenwood' In Its Entirety

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Regina Spektor, Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood Does Avant-Garde Classical, More

Regina Spektor (upper left), Kishi Bashi (right) and Mind Spiders (bottom). Courtesy of the artists hide caption

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All Songs Considered

Regina Spektor, Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood Does Avant-Garde Classical, More

February 28, 2012 • Hear new music from Spektor's upcoming album, a collaboration between Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood and Polish avant-garde composer Krzysztof Penderecki, and more.

Regina Spektor, Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood Does Avant-Garde Classical, More

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