Jan Krenz

Jan Krenz (14 July 1926 – 15 September 2020) was a Polish composer and orchestra conductor. During World War II, Krenz studied piano with Zbigniew Drzewiecki and composition with Kazimierz Sikorski. From 1945 to 1947, he studied at the Academy of Music in Łódź, conducting with Kazimierz Wiłkomirski and composing with Sikorski.

In 1949, Krenz began serving under Grzegorz Fitelberg as deputy conductor at the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. After Fitelberg's death, Krenz became director of the orchestra from 1953 to 1968. In 1968, he became artistic director of the Grand Theatre in Warsaw, and was General Director of Music in Bonn from 1979 to 1982. At the same time, he directed the Danish National Symphony Orchestra in Copenhagen. He was a guest conductor at the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest in Hilversum. He also often performed with the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo. Other orchestras he led include the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

On 26 March 1958, Krenz was the first person to conduct Musique funèbre by Witold Lutosławski. In addition to conducting many orchestras, he has also written a number of compositions.Jan Krenz died on 15 September 2020 at the age of 94.