Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki has been given a standing ovation by some 1, 200 people after the performance of his St Luke Passion at Canterbury Cathedral last night.

He conducted the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, three choirs from Poland and Polish soloists in what was the first live performance of the work in the UK since 1982.

The concert was one of the highlights of the contemporary music festival Sounds New which this year had the motto ‘Polish Connections’.  Sounds New opened the Polska! Year, a major festival of Polish art and culture which is to last till May 2010.

The programme of Sounds New included a wide selection of works  by such composers as  Szymanowski, Panufnik, Lutoslawski, Bacewicz, Gorecki. Szymanski and Mykietyn.