Principal guest conductor of the China Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Penderecki conducted his "Symphony No 4" and "Viola Concerto" last season to wide acclaim.

"Under the baton of the composer, concert-goers might hear the authoritative interpretation of the score and understand his original inspiration in composing," said Yu Long, artistic director of the China Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra.

It took Penderecki as long as seven years to compose "Symphony No 3" from 1988 to 1995, which was commissioned by the Munich Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. Penderecki conducted the orchestra that premiered the work in December 1995.

Composed of five movements, the 45-minute score blends classic musical language with modern techniques.

Born in Debica, Poland, in 1933, Penderecki is currently one of the most esteemed and widely discussed composers today.

After taking private composition lessons with Franciszek Skolyszewski, he studied music at Krakow University and the Krakow Academy for Music.

Penderecki's career had a very auspicious beginning. In 1959 he suddenly came into prominence when three of his works won first prizes in a national competition organized by the Polish Composers' Association (He submitted them under different pseudonyms).

The development of his compositional style has reflected the evolution of new music from the avant-garde of the 1960s to the present day, while preserving his own distinctive voice.

In early works such as "Emanations," "Strophes," and most notably the "Threnody For the Victims of Hiroshima," he put himself at the forefront of his field, combining a highly experimental and expressionistic use of sound with a radical humanistic message.

The highlight of his work in this first phase was "St. Luke Passion" (1963-1966), which brought him popular acclaim. Various different styles can be seen at work. The experimental textures such as in the "Threnody For the Victims of Hiroshima" are balanced by the baroque form of the work. More traditional harmonies can also be seen in places.

Around the 1970s Pendercki's style gradually turned toward simple structures and a more traditional tonal language, moving toward a contemporary neo-Romanticism.

This direction continued with the Symphony No 2, Christmas (1980), which is rather straightforward from a harmonic and melodic standpoint for a composer who had been one of the most experimental in Europe.

Penderecki also established his reputation as a musical dramatist, first with "The Devils of Loudun" (1969), followed by "Paradise Lost," which premiered in Chicago in 1978. His third opera, "The Black Mask," achieved major success in its premiere at the 1986 Salzburg Festival.

In the 1980's, Penderecki began to connect the acerbic sounds of his first period with the romantic gestures of the second, thus creating music of universal humanistic expressiveness, according to critics.

Among the most notable works of this period are the "Cello Concerto No 2" (1982), the "Viola Concerto" (1983) and the "Polish Requiem" (1984), a work which is the composer's memorial to the oppression of his country and a declaration of solidarity with its struggle for freedom.

The tendency in recent years has been towards more conservative romanticism, however, as seen in works like the "Cello Concerto No 2" and the "Credo."

Like other leading composers today, Penderecki has also built an international reputation as a conductor since he took the baton in 1972.

In Europe he has conducted the Berlin Philharmonic as well as orchestras in France, England, Italy, Austria, Sweden and Switzerland. His US appearances have included performances with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra, among others.

He also serves as principal guest conductor of the Norddeutscher Rundfunk Orchestra in Hamburg and the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk Sinfonie Orchestra in Leipzig, and from 1992 was the artistic director of the Casals Festival in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

From 1998, he was appointed the artistic advisor for the Beijing Music Festival.

(Shanghai Star December 20, 2002)