On February 8, Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki and his wife, cultural organizer Elżbieta Penderecka, received the 18th Aleksander Gieysztor Prize at the Royal Castle in Warsaw. The award, granted by Citibank Handlowy’s Leopold Kronenberg Foundation, was given for the creation of the Krzysztof Penderecki European Center for Music in Lusławice, supporting young artists and promoting classical music in Poland and abroad. The center is a meeting place for talented young musicians and professors – eminent specialists in the art of performance, composition, and humanities in the broad sense. During the ceremony, Professor Andrzej Rottermund, chair of the Award Committee, recognized the engagement of the Pendereckis in the international cultural cooperation and popularizing Polish cultural heritage. In the previous years, the winners were: Andrzej Wajda, Krystyna Zachwatowicz, Anda Rottenberg and Norman Davies.
[Source: beethoven.org.pl, citibank.pl]