The Symphony No. 1 by Polish composer

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best-known works include '' Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', '' Polish Requiem'', '' ...

was composed in 1973. It was published by Polish Music Publishing House and

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and has never been expanded or revised.

Composition

The composition was commissioned by

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, one of the best known gas engine manufacturers in

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, as part of a series of Annual Industrial Concerts. Penderecki started composing it in 1972. It would eventually premiere at

Peterborough Cathedral Peterborough Cathedral, properly the Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew, and formerly known as Peterborough Abbey or St Peter's Abbey, is a cathedral in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, in the United Kingdom. The seat of the Church ...

on 19 July 1973, with the composer conducting the

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. Three months after its world premiere, it was performed in the composer's own country, at the

Warsaw Autumn Festival Warsaw Autumn () is the largest international Polish festival of contemporary music. It was established in 1956 by two composers, Tadeusz Baird and Kazimierz Serocki, and officially established by the Head Board of the Polish Composers' Union. I ...

by the

Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra The Warsaw Philharmonic (full Polish name: ''Orkiestra Filharmonii Narodowej w Warszawie'', "National Philharmonic Orchestra in Warsaw"), as it is legally set up, is a Polish orchestra based in Warsaw. Founded in 1901, its home is the Warsaw ...

under

Witold Rowicki Witold Rowicki (born ''Witold Kałka'', 26 February 1914 – 1 October 1989) was a Polish conductor. He held principal conducting positions with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. Witold Lutoslawski's Conc ...

. By the time the composition was finished, Penderecki stated that "I was then attempting to make a reckoning of my two decades' worth of musical experience – a time of radical, avant-garde seeking. It was the summa of what I could say as an avant-garde artist", claiming that the compositional style that he had been developing over the previous 15 years had reached its natural conclusion.

Structure

The symphony consists of four continuous movements which take approximately 30 to 35 minutes to perform. This composition is scored for a large orchestra, consisting of 3 flutes (2 & 3 doubling piccolos), 3 oboes (3rd doubling cor anglais), 3 clarinets, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons (3rd doubling contrabassoon), 5 horns, 3 trumpets, 4 trombones, tuba, timpani, 5 percussionists playing 2 triangles, gong, 4 cymbals, 2 tam-tams, 6 tom-toms, 2 bongos, 2 congas, wooden drum, bass drum, woodblock, claves, ratchet, guiro, whip, vibraslap, 5 crotales, iron bar, 5 bells, glockenspiel, 5 Almglocken, harmonium, harp, celesta, piano and strings. The movement list is as follows: * I. Archi 1 * II. Dynamis 1 * III. Dynamis 2 * IV. Archi 2

References

{{Authority control Symphonies by Krzysztof Penderecki 1973 compositions Contemporary classical compositions