Krzysztof Penderecki (b. 1933): Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima (1960) Krzysztof Urbański (b. 1982), conductor Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra Helsinki Music Centre, 13 March 2015
What a respectful audience! The silcence at the end and absence of immediate applause shows that they obviously understand the historical and emotional significance of this piece.
@@mieszkoherburt354 Do you realise that the piece is meant to reflect what actually happened? The event that this was written about was one of the worst things the human race has inflicted upon itself, and the music is trying to reflect that. It's basically supposed to sound horrid.
@@osiantownsendjones2833 It's not about the bombing itself (but you can hear something like an air-raid siren in there), but on the mental states of the victims. The constant, poignant wailing of the soul, and the eventual realization (and constant denial) of their current reality. I think this piece mirrors that emotion remarkably well.
Well, bearing in mind its extremely serious and horrific inspiration, I could see it being professionally and artistically challenging, and perhaps even kind of fun!
Today, March 29, 2020 Maestro Penderecki is gone. This is a huge loss for music, the world and Poles. He will stay with us forever. Thank you, master, for what you did.
Thank you for posting that info. A great composer. Never heard any news about it until today, 30 Apr 2020. My mama was born in 1933 too, but she is still kicking!
It's understandable that some listeners would struggle, even reject, this type of music. It's scary, frightening, the sound of dread and horror. But it's also safe.. You can turn it off, walk out of the concert hall, listen to something else, etc.. Really though, it's just music. It doesn't ask too much, only to listen. The least one can do is try to engage. It won't kill you.. Not like a nuclear weapon dropped on your city.
Sekar Kuno I'm not a fan of contemporary music, but this piece in particular affected me a lot. Our teacher made us listen to this without telling us it was about the nuclear bomb. And I SWEAR, the first time I thought "This sounds like people screaming and suffering" and when he finally explain the piece I was shocked, cause it actually made me heard and feel something. Not as other contemporary works I've heard before. This is the second time I listen the piece and it just moved me. It is wonderful that Penderecki made a composition not using tonality and be able to capture and share how he felt about this historical tragedy. All my respect to the composer.
@Bruno56 maybe not justify, but you can understand that a full blown invasion would likely have cost more lives on both sides. There is no need to hate youself nor the US for what it did in wars, just like a German citizen does not need to hate himself for Nazi atrocities. We can mourn their deaths but that won't bring the victims back nor will it ease the sufferings they went through. The important thing is to make sure history doesn't repeat itself.
@Bruno56 can you do anything about them? Will being sad and guilty help them? Will the horrors of war and rasicm be erased by apologising? No amount of emotion can heal the psychological and physical wounds of victims. Hating yourself does not provide tangible help. If you really want to something about it, you're better off spending that energy with charities and volunteer programs.
Truly a piece of art. Not all of art is supposed to be pleasant, fun or entertaining. I wish that every person on this planet listened to this music at least once in their lifetime.
I am very relieved to see so many comments where people said it sounded like people screaming. That's exactly what I thought, especially at the start. Glad I'm not the only one! What an amazing piece. The final chord at the end is shattering in its texture and the way it just fades out, leaving you stunned.
It's much more horrifying watching them play it than it is just listening. With the frenetic movements of the bows, it makes a spectacle almost that of insects devouring prey
I could hear the screams of women and children in the very first seconds of the performance and then it felt like I traveled back in time and I was in the room where they were mediating the launch of the bomb. I felt like I had to do something to stop them from launching it, but I couldn't. I was helpless. I can only listen. It's why I didn't turn it off after the first minute. This piece made me feel guilty for all the wars throughout history and like the only way I could redeem myself is to listen.
I have known this piece for over 40 years. I think I have every version available on CD and one rare version on vinyl. And I once had the conductor's score as well. I have still yet to see this performed live in a concert hall in the SF Bay Area. This video comes close, but I hope some group performs it here and I'll be able to see it in person in my lifetime.
I heard that conductors are picky about which orchestras they would trust to perform it. Because rehearsals are long and brutal if the performers are too stuck to traditional techniques. It's difficult to find performers that will accurately execute the atypical tactics required.
@@adintyaannasaidhiakharisma5202 hehe I practiced hip hop 1year and the I stopped but you're right to enjoy but not thanks to hip hop (sorry for my indeed I am french)
That the musicians of any orchestra are able to play this piece as written, and that any conductor is able to tie it all together in a fine performance, has always seemed remarkable, only exceeded by the score itself. Thanks for posting this performance :-)
A man like Penderecki is truly a gem, able to take raw emotion and translate it into notes, rhythms and vibrations in a way few others can, in a way that transcends human understanding. There are few that will ever equal his talent.
This has become my favourite piece of music by far. I listen to it everyday, usually on headphones, as loudly as possible. Nothing can approach it in intensity, spontaneity, or depth. It is the soundtrack to the human condition.
About 5 minutes in, I realized my jaw was throbbing and I had a headache. I had unconsciously clenched my teeth together. Somehow, I suspect that it's the exact reaction the composer intended.
For what it might be worth, I remember first hearing this in the early 70s as a young student beginning the music major in college. The professor was passionate to make this point that the sound field was an attempt to represent the inner emotional state, not a nuclear attack. This is shown in that the title is THREN ODY, which is a kind of direct, wailing song of mourning.
To add on to that: Penderecki didn’t know the piece was for Hiroshima while he was composing it. When he heard it performed for the first time he was supposedly somewhat surprised by the degree of emotional intensity and decided to dedicate it to the victims of Hiroshima
Our music teacher played this to my class in 1981, I loved it instantly. The rest of the class hated it, she only played a couple of minutes, I never forgot it. She also played it to my brother's class that same year. He loved it too, but the rest of the class also hated it. We both talked about it with our dad. And we both independently of either of our classes enjoyed it. Yes it is a challenging listen, more of a soundtrack, but I love the imaginary horror of the piece, it is a masterpiece.
It's a testament to the power of this piece how easy it is to forget that it's a musical composition and not just the feeling it evokes. Penderecki's raw intensity gives me a unique sense of intimacy that I haven't found anywhere else, least of all in big symphonic compositions. Were this really just a sound of nature it would be terrifying, but knowing another human mind felt whatever emotions were necessary to create this is almost comforting.
0:07 The bomb explodes over Hiroshima. 1:03 The black rain begins falling on the flattened city. 2:27 People with melted skin’s suffering gets worse while the radioactive rain lands on their wounds. 2:51 The people being so thirsty and exhausted, they die of shock the moment they find water to drink. 3:46 The ones still living begin feeling cold after getting radioactive sickness. Their hair falls out, and they fall on the ground vomiting blood, and die. 5:43 The bodies floating in the rivers have gas inside them, and then the gas pops out through their stomachs. 6:40: The ones still alive get swarmed with mosquitoes and their wounds infested by maggots. 8:24 Nagasaki is bombed on August 9th, 1945 9:00 Japan surrenders to America on August 15th, 1945. In memory of the innocent (and only the innocent ones) civilians killed in the bombings
I've listened to recordings of this before, but in particular watching it is a different experience. The way no one moves in unison - as opposed to the typically near medical synchronization of most performances - replicates the frantic and manic nature of the song. Like each performer is experiencing their own, independent crisis, drowned alongside the noise.
honestly this is a lot less scary watching it be performed live. it reminds me there are real people doing it and there's zero chance of being caught off guard and spooked
Powerful composition. Poignant, intense, moving. The eerie sounds, pregnant passages, alternating eerie calm and intense disruption. The suggestion of pain, confusion, anguish, screams, moans, laments. One is completely taken by the powerfully imagistic quality of the music, remembrance of scenes of desolation from Hiroshima. 🍀🌹🍀
It’s honestly crazy what people can show and represent through music. How they can make the audience feel. I remember my orchestra teacher showing us this piece, our first reactions were crazy. Such a beautiful yet terrifying piece.
First found this song from the climactic scene in "Children of Men" from 2008. Now returning from "Black Mirror"'s use of the song (and others of Penderecki) in the film "Metal Head". Evokes a true terror that is simply unmatched. William's use of bowing and beats/slaps come close in his score for "Close Encounters".
Penderecki achieved what he did by building on the foundations of classical music laid by the great masters before him. Everyone from Palestrina to Schoenberg played a fundamental role in building his sonic universe to become the composer we know today.
!!!! Se puede sentir horror, miedo, dolor, angustia, desastre, desesperación, gritos. Magnífica y terrible. Cierro los ojos y casi puedo ver las espantosas escenas de lo vivido en Hiroshima y Nagasaki, algo que nunca más se debería repetir en la historia de la humanidad. Gran compositor, gran legado
@@please.stop.coping Nobody knows what will be appreciated or considered relevant in 100 years, because any atempt at trying to predict scenarios is limited by our present criteria. Besides, real geniuses probably will be born in the meantime. My first comment is half joke, half _why not?_
> Plays Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima > Plays O Gloriosa Virginum He started with tonal music, switched to atonal, went back to tonal... **BRAIN EXPLODES**
Definitely That sound is just so well composed The timing of the glissando gives it this disturbing feeling. It’s like if you saw a monster-like shape but suddenly it disappeared a moment later. You would be thinking “am I hallucinating?! Did I saw a ghost?! What’s happening?!” It’s beautiful but at the same time so scary.
Daniel Zarb-Cousin you can Go and watch other video, no one asked you to come and listen. I kindly suggest you to Let everyone else enjoy this without your hate here
It's incredible how can you hear the story through the music, don't why music should be only about the melody, harmony, rhythm etc. Of course I like Chopin, Glinka, Rachmaninoff and many others, but I guess I don't "see" this only like a music a see as a pure art as others works from other authors. I think that person has to have it in himself, when we were learning about this era of music even the teacher said she don't like it and I was the only one, god I miss the school... so the thing I wanted to say was that music art isn't only about music but it's a collection of music, visions and feelings and if you have rich fantasy it's actually easier to "see it" hear it. Well I'm sorry about my long monologue it's just some of these comments that this isn't music and that it's awful etc. just made me feel little bit sad and depressed...(and yes even more than the music)
Pineapplefrost1 people who only say "is terrible music" is missing the point of this piece. I don't like contemporary music THAT much, but this piece goes beyond that just experimenting with sounds as many composers do. There's a strong and important background and if you're aware of this, and still think "this is not music" then there's something wrong with you. It is supposed to be "terrifying" and not "sound good". Is about the victims of Hiroshima, it cannot be expressed in a "pretty" way.
@@RaymondHng True, and the Threnody (Electric Animals) track #7 (although, my error, not this threnody). The movie's soundtrack is a veritable who's-who of 20th century classical music: Henze, Xenakis, Penderecki, etc. which is impressive for a Hollywood film.
I think Penderecki is hugely UnderRated. He was magnificent and brought so so so so much to his compositions. His tributes to Hiroshima and victims of World war ll is something I haven't heard from other composers. we lost a legend.
Esto es realmente interesante, así como aterrador, porque nos hace cuestionar A esto le podemos llamar música? Podriamos decir no, pero entonces, ¿Cómo que no si está siendo tocada por muchos instrumentos? O talvez sí, pero ¿Porqué, si no se disfruta? Más bien da escalofríos. Escuchar como va un misil a toda velocidad, mientras las personas gritan de miedo. Los golpes a los instrumentos que hacen parecer que están golpeando una puerta, o moviendo cosas para bloquearla. Las cuerdas que pueden hacerte escuchar voces de personas inocentes siendo asesinadas de manera cruel, muy cruel... Yo opino que sí es música, así como escalofriante es, también puede ser música, debido a que esta obra del Maestro Penderecki, transmite esos sentimientos. No solo por los efectos, sino cómo la interpretes. Qué opinan ustedes? Me lo pueden hacer saber respondiendo a este comentario. Gracias.
jest tak niezrozumiała, że aż się chce słuchać, to tak jak się ktoś wypowiada o książce, że jest jakaś , ale jej nie czytał, tak się słucha Threnody.....
Many of the sounds they are making go against all their years of training. So this must be liberating for the performers. Or mentally painful if they are fundamentalists. It's probably like being instructed to drive on the opposite side of the road that you usually drive and told that everyone else will to.
Penderecki a réalisé ce qu'il a fait en s'appuyant sur les fondations de la musique classique posées par les grands maîtres avant lui. Tout le monde, de Palestrina à Schoenberg, a joué un rôle fondamental dans la construction de son univers sonore pour devenir le compositeur que nous connaissons aujourd'hui.
This score dates from the first ceative period of the author, during wich he could be considered as belonging to the avant garde school. Then, he mase a strange U turn in his writing style, which turned to postmomantism aand postexpressinism.
