All of Bergers’ Trees
Johann Libor Berger, the composer’s maternal grandfather, was born into a German family in Wrocław (then Breslau). When he grew up, Count Raczyński employed him as a forester. He infected his son Robert with a love for trees; the latter passed it on to Krzysztof. The only time when Penderecki saw his grandpa truly shattered was when the Russians cut down a several-centuries-old oak tree in Dębica market square, directly after the war. Robert Berger worked in a bank, but he was also an amateur painter. The composer has two of his works, one of which depicts the church in Dębica as seen from the Penderecki flat.