| Symphony No. 1 | |
| Composer: | Krzysztof Penderecki |
| Image Upright: | 0.7 |
| Movements: | 4 |
| Performed: | , Peterborough Cathedral |
| Scoring: | orchestra |
The Symphony No. 1 by Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki was composed in 1973. It was published by Polish Music Publishing House and Schott Music[1] and has never been expanded or revised.[2]
The composition was commissioned by Perkins Engines, one of the best known gas engine manufacturers in Peterborough, as part of a series of Annual Industrial Concerts.[3] Penderecki started composing it in 1972. It would eventually premiere at Peterborough Cathedral on 19 July 1973, with the composer conducting the London Symphony Orchestra.[4] Three months after its world premiere, it was performed in the composer's own country, at the Warsaw Autumn Festival by the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra under Witold Rowicki.[5]
By the time the composition was finished, Penderecki stated that "I was then attempting to make a reckoning of my two decades' worth of musical experience – a time of radical, avant-garde seeking. It was the summa of what I could say as an avant-garde artist", claiming that the compositional style that he had been developing over the previous 15 years had reached its natural conclusion.[6]
The symphony consists of four continuous movements which take approximately 30 to 35 minutes to perform. This composition is scored for a large orchestra, consisting of 3 flutes (2 & 3 doubling piccolos), 3 oboes (3rd doubling cor anglais), 3 clarinets, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons (3rd doubling contrabassoon), 5 horns, 3 trumpets, 4 trombones, tuba, timpani, 5 percussionists playing 2 triangles, gong, 4 cymbals, 2 tam-tams, 6 tom-toms, 2 bongos, 2 congas, wooden drum, bass drum, woodblock, claves, ratchet, guiro, whip, vibraslap, 5 crotales, iron bar, 5 bells, glockenspiel, 5 Almglocken, harmonium, harp, celesta, piano and strings.[7] The movement list is as follows: