Paths Through the Labyrinth - The Composer Krzysztof Penderecki

A portrait of the Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki, who at the age of 81 is still traveling the world to conduct performances of his own music. Penderecki built his reputation as a Polish avant-garde composer in the 1960s, introducing a new form of music notation along the way, and he is still broadening his horizons to include other styles. There are appearances from Radiohead’s guitarist Johnny Greenwood – who has written a modern adaptation of Penderecki’s Polymorphia – as well as the Dutch violinist Janine Jansen and the Polish film director Andrzej Wajda, a longtime friend of the composer. Filmmaker Anna Schmidt follows Penderecki from Krakow to Munich, Vienna and then Leipzig, and we quickly learn that he isn’t one to avoid conflict when his compositions are being rehearsed. Walking in the landscaped gardens of his Luslawice estate, where he has lived with his wife for decades, Penderecki discusses his sense of harmony and structure. These conversations about his life and search for new music (“For me, a maze is a symbol of the search”) combine to form a multilayered portrait of the man whom the Guardian has described as “Poland’s greatest living composer.” (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)