Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima

Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima
by Krzysztof Penderecki
Atomic cloud over Hiroshima, 1945
Native nameTren pamięci ofiar Hiroszimy
Full titlePolish: Tren pamięci ofiar Hiroszimy na 52 instrumenty smyczkowe (Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima for 52 string instruments)
Year1961 (1961)
PeriodContemporary, postmodernism
GenreThrenody
StyleSonorism, avant-garde
FormOrchestral piece
DedicationVictims and Hibakusha of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima
PublisherPolskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne
Polskie Nagrania Warszawa
Duration8:37
Premiere
Date22 September 1961; 63 years ago (22 September 1961)[1][2]: 565 
LocationWarsaw Autumn Festival
ConductorAndrzej Markowski[2]: 565 
PerformersKrakow Philharmonic
Symphony Orchestra
ISWC T-905.954.212-0
Awards
 • 4th Place[a][2]: 202 
UNESCO Tribune Internationale des Compositeurs (1961)

 • 3rd Degree
Polish Ministry of Culture and Art Award (1962)

Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima, also translated as Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima[4][5] (Polish: Tren pamięci ofiar Hiroszimy), is a musical composition for 52 string instruments composed in 1961 by Krzysztof Penderecki. A threnody is a song or poem of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to the dead. Dedicated to the residents of Hiroshima killed and injured by the first-ever wartime usage of an atomic weapon, the composition won the Tribune Internationale des Compositeurs UNESCO prize that same year.[6][7][a][b]

  1. ^ Gąsiorowska, Małgorzata (1 December 2017). "The Warsaw Autumn International Festival of Contemporary Music – Transformations of Programming Policies". Musicology Today. 14 (1): 28. doi:10.1515/muso-2017-0001.
  2. ^ a b c Bylander, Cynthia E. (1989). The Warsaw Autumn International Festival of Contemporary Music 1956–1961: Its Goals, Structures, Programs, and People (PhD thesis). Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University. Document No.1487673114112901 – via OhioLink.edu.Open access icon
  3. ^ "International Rostrum of Composers". 15 March 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  4. ^ Krzysztof Penderecki (1988). Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima Tren ofiarom Hiroszimy (1980); Viola concerto (1983) (CD booklet). Conifer Records. OCLC 884553089.
  5. ^ Krzysztof Penderecki (1961). Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima for 52 strings = Threnos den opfern von Hiroschima fúr 52 saiteninstrumente (CD booklet). Deshon Music. OCLC 318270188.
  6. ^ Hiemenz, Jack (27 February 1977). "A Composer Praises God as One Who Lives in Darkness". The New York Times. Vol. 126, no. 43499.
  7. ^ "Oficjalna strona Krzysztofa Pendereckiego [en]". www.krzysztofpenderecki.eu. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  8. ^ "International Rostrum of Composers – FAQ". RostrumPlus. 15 March 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  9. ^ "Relations with UNESCO". International Music Council. Retrieved 25 December 2019.


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