The Coryphaeus of Polish Music for the Penderecki/Aphex Twin/Greenwood project

The Coryphaeus of Polish Music Award in the Event of the Year category went to the National Audiovisual Institute project of concerts by Krzysztof Penderecki, Jonny Greenwood and Aphex Twin, which took place during the European Congress of Culture in Wrocław in September 2011.
The concerts were organized within the National Cultural Programme of the Polish Presidency 2011. The winners were announced and awards presented on the World Music Day, October 1, at the Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio of Polish Radio.
The joint concerts by Krzysztof Penderecki (one of the most important contemporary composers, the creator of 1960s avant-garde music), Jonny Greenwood (a multi-instrumentalist and composer inspired by Penderecki’s music, best known as the guitarist of Radiohead) and Aphex Twin (the guru of electronic music) have attracted thousands-strong audience to the Centennial Hall in Wrocław. During both concerts, the AUKSO Chamber Orchestra of Tychy conducted by Marek Moś and Krzysztof Penderecki presented the composer’s works from the 1960s, as well as world premieres of Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima remix and Polymorphia Reloaded by Aphex Twin, and 48 Responses to Polymorphia by Jonny Greenwood. Filip Berkowicz was the curator of the concerts at the invitation of the National Audiovisual Institute.
The concerts at the European Congress of Culture inspired the artists to continue the collaboration. In March of this year, the New York Nonesuch Records label, in cooperation with the National Audiovisual Institute, released a CD with works by Penderecki and Greenwood, and the premiere Penderecki & Greenwood concert was performed and received a standing ovation at London’s famous Barbican Hall, as well as during the Open’er Festival in July.
The Coryphaeus of Polish Music has been awarded since 2011 in three categories (Personality of the Year, Event of the Year, Honorary Award) by the Polish music community: representatives of music organizations and institutions, the academic community, and critics and journalists from the Electoral College established by the Institute of Music and Dance.
For details on the award, see koryfeusz.org.pl