Krzysztof Penderecki receives the Jerzy Kurczewski Award

Krzysztof Penderecki became this year’s recipient of the Jerzy Kurczewski Award. The award, granted since 1999, is Poland’s only award for distinguished choral artists.
The decision was announced on Monday evening. The award committee is chaired by composer, pianist and teacher Krzysztof Meyer. Penderecki is the honorary patron of this award. The distinction will be conferred next year.
Previous recipients of this unique choral award include Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, Stefan Stuligrosz, Andrzej Koszewski and Wojciech Kilar. The first award went to Jan Łukaszewski, director of the Polish Chamber Choir Schola Cantorum Gedanensis.
The award is given to those active in the areas in which Jerzy Kurczewski was active himself, i.e. conducting and composition, with special consideration of choirs or vocalism in its broad sense.