My grandfather taught me trees and the Latin names of trees when I was five or six. His father was a forester, so he knew them all. — Krzysztof Penderecki Copy Share Image
Conducting is a natural way to participate in one's own music. Almost every 19th-century composer Mendelssohn, Mahler was conducting or playing his own music. Mozart did both. — Krzysztof Penderecki Copy Share Image
I started to write religious music at a time when it was absolutely impossible. The first religious work I wrote was the 'Psalms of… — Krzysztof Penderecki Copy Share Image
I started with very tonal 19th-century music because I wanted to be a violinist as a child. So this was my first music, and… — Krzysztof Penderecki Copy Share Image
The communists saw what we did in the arts as the only product of socialism that was known in the West, so they tolerated… — Krzysztof Penderecki Copy Share Image
When the Second World War started, I was only five but I still remember... Being a witness... I wanted people to remember what happened… — Krzysztof Penderecki Copy Share Image
I must never change my way - because of critics who may not like it - I preserve my language and my style. — Krzysztof Penderecki Copy Share Image
Chopin is a great composer who influenced many, many important composers. He was a great innovator, especially in harmony. — Krzysztof Penderecki Copy Share Image
At school, I wrote in the style of the Dutch composers. After I graduated, a new style set in. — Krzysztof Penderecki Copy Share Image
