The Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków is a conservatory located in central Kraków, Poland. It is the alma mater of the renowned Polish contemporary composer Krzysztof Penderecki, who was also its rector for 15 years. The academy is the only one in Poland to have two winners of the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw (Halina Czerny-Stefańska and Adam Harasiewicz) as well as a few further prize-winners among its alumni.

Historical background

The academy was founded in 1888 by the eminent Polish composer Władysław Żeleński thanks to his artistic connections and patronage of Princess Marcelina Czartoryska, a concert pianist and former pupil of Frédéric Chopin. Until 1945 it operated as a conservatory under the name of Conservatory of the Music Society or, the Cracow Conservatory. During the partitions of Poland, as the region of Lesser Poland and Kraków was ruled by the Austrian Empire – in the late 18th century, it was necessary to gain the consent of the Austrian administration and meet the imperial requirements set for all conservatoires. The newly opened school was inspected by Joseph Dachs and Johann Fuchs, both professors of the Vienna Conservatoire, and received their enthusiastic opinion. It enjoyed a period of great growth in the twenty years between the two wars under directors Wiktor Barabasz and Boleslaw Wallek-Walewski. The professorial staff included such names as Zbigniew Drzewiecki, Jan Gall, Zdzisław Jachimecki, Egon Petri and Severin Eisenberger. Closed during the Nazi occupation of 1939–1945, especially after Sonderaktion Krakau in 1939, the conservatoire continued its activity underground and finally reopened on 1 September 1945, becoming the State Higher School of Music as of 1 February 1946 under its first rector, Prof. Zbigniew Drzewiecki. In 1979 it gained the rank of an Academy of Music. On 1 October 2000 the academy inaugurated its new premises at 41–43, St. Thomas Street (ul. Sw. Tomasza).

Structure

Composition, Interpretation and Music Education Faculty

Instrumental Faculty

Voice and Drama Faculty

People associated with the academy

Notable alumni

The list does not include graduates who later became staff of the Academy.

Notable faculty

Academics before World War II

Academics after 1945

Also graduated from the academy:

Doctors honoris causa

Notes and references