The work will be performed by the Orchestra and Choirs of the Kraków Philharmonic conducted by Maciej Tworek.
The concert also marks the 60th anniversary of the piece’s world premiere, widely regarded as one of the most important works of 20th-century classical music.
Penderecki composed St. Luke Passion (Passio et mors Domini nostri Jesu Christi secundum Lucam) on commission to mark the 700th anniversary of Münster Cathedral in Germany. Its premiere there on March 30, 1966 was met with critical acclaim.
In a 2016 interview with Poland's PAP news agency, Penderecki recalled the intense process of composing the work.
“It took me a year to collect the materials for the Passion. As the deadline for the first performance approached, I was under time pressure," he said. "Elżbieta and I went to an artists' retreat in Krynica, and there, on a breakfast table so small that the score was twice as big, I wrote the Passion. The score was ready in six weeks."
The about 80-minute piece is scored for a large symphony orchestra, a boys’ choir, three mixed choirs and three soloists. It won Penderecki the Prix Italia award in 1967.
Friday's performance will feature soprano Natalia Rubiś, bass Artur Janda and baritone Mariusz Godlewski.
This year’s Beethoven Easter Festival included 11 symphonic concerts, three chamber performances and a piano recital. It was the final edition programmed by Elżbieta Penderecka, the composer’s wife, who died in October.
Penderecki died in 2020 at the age of 86.
(mk/gs)