What an absolute legend, his music was like nothing else that came before. Rest in peace.
In case you're not familiar with his work - one of the best known pieces is the "Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima". Here you can see it overlaid on top of the notation he had invented to write this composition down:
https://youtu.be/HilGthRhwP8
I’ll never forget being introduced to this piece in my first semester of music college. It was at the weekly composition departmental, we were going to listen to a few pieces and discuss. When the professor played this it shattered my naive jazz/classical/pop perception of composition!
also, when it says for the victims of hiroshima, it doesnt mean for them to listen to. its a piece for their experience to speak to the world. its an honorary for the victims, directed at those who werent. its open to interpretation though
> it wasnt exactly written for easy listening, it represents the instantaneous annihilation of life on the largest scale the world has ever seen.
As is well known (or should be), Penderecki wrote the piece initially as purely abstract music, a study in sound. The title referencing Hiroshima was only applied to the piece later.
It uses such a great palette of composition techniques — gregorian chant, unison passages, clusters (the bell-like effects he achieves with clusters are my favorite part of the piece), up to the surprise effect at the end.
My first thought was: "Has this death relation to Covid-19?"
And just found an answer:[0]
> Penderecki had been tested for coronavirus after his carer was diagnosed with the illness, but the composer's result was negative, his daughter Beata Penderecka told Reuters.[1]
> Part of the family had been under quarantine at home after attending a family meeting on March 7, Penderecka said. Several people present later tested positive for coronavirus.
Penderecki's "long illness" has been common knowledge in the classical music world for some time now, and the composer has been forced to cancel many engagements and commissions over the last couple of years due to ill health, well before Covid-19 was ever a thing.
I was going to point out that some deaths may be more likely to be included in the list because they died of COVID-19, but fuck, that does not seem to be the case. Genuinely terrifying.
Fans of David Lynch’s work will recognize Penderecki’s “Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima” as the soundtrack to “Twin Peaks: The Return” (in)famous Episode 8:
Right before the Corona lockdown there was a concert announced with him as conductor, for a late piece of him. About a month ago. In our city which is about an hour away from the place where he lives in Poland. Unfortunately he didn't show up. We already thought, how bad, he's probably not feeling well. I had this bad feeling already then.
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[ 2.6 ms ] story [ 59.2 ms ] threadIn case you're not familiar with his work - one of the best known pieces is the "Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima". Here you can see it overlaid on top of the notation he had invented to write this composition down: https://youtu.be/HilGthRhwP8
Wikipedia page on the piece: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threnody_to_the_Victims_of_H...
The last track? The Penderecki Threnody
RIP
It’s unlistenable. Dreadful. Who considers this music and why? What’s the point of it?
What am I missing?
As is well known (or should be), Penderecki wrote the piece initially as purely abstract music, a study in sound. The title referencing Hiroshima was only applied to the piece later.
It uses such a great palette of composition techniques — gregorian chant, unison passages, clusters (the bell-like effects he achieves with clusters are my favorite part of the piece), up to the surprise effect at the end.
And just found an answer:[0]
> Penderecki had been tested for coronavirus after his carer was diagnosed with the illness, but the composer's result was negative, his daughter Beata Penderecka told Reuters.[1]
> Part of the family had been under quarantine at home after attending a family meeting on March 7, Penderecka said. Several people present later tested positive for coronavirus.
> Elzbieta Penderecka, the composer's wife tested negative, Beata Penderecka said.
UPD: On Wikipedia there no info about his "long illness".[2]
JFTR, My Personal Opinion: Tests which used now around the world for Covid-19 testing has NO 100% guaranties on its results.
[0] https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2020/03/29/polish-compos...
[1] https://www.reuters.com/article/poland-music-penderecki/upda...
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaths_in_2020#29
Oh come on, he was 86. At that age virtually anything and everything can cause one to die.
That wikipedia link has 108 references to COVID-19, wow...
https://robertsabinbass.blog/2017/09/20/this-is-the-water-an...
https://youtu.be/ApJU2QbbXpc
https://youtu.be/axVXBZBBUPM