10 Zlotys Krzysztof Klenczon

Reverse

Script: Latin

Lettering:
HISTORIA
POLSKIEJ MUZYKI
ROZRYWKOWEJ
KRZYSZTOF KLENCZON
SM

Designer: Sebastian Mikołajczak

Edge

Plain

Comment

Krzysztof Klenczon (14.01.1942–7.04.1981) – composer,musician, guitarist, arranger, co-founder of the band
Czerwone Gitary, leader of the group Trzy Korony, a member of the legendary bands Niebiesko-Czarni and Pięciolinie. He was the author of many hit songs that remain popular to this day. “Matura”, “Historia jednej znajomości”, “Kwiaty we włosach”, “Biały krzyż”, “Taka jak ty”, “10 w skali Beauforta”, “Natalie – Piękniejszy świat”, “Nie przejdziemy do historii”– these are just a few of the hits from his extensive body of work. When he left us, he was only 39 years old. Born in Pułtusk, he grew up in Szczytno. He then settled in Poland’s coastal Tri-city, and finally in Chicago, where he lived for many years after leaving Poland and where he died as a result of a tragic car accident. He was buried in Szczytno. On his final journey he was accompanied by family, friends, fans, and heavy rainfall. Even the sky was crying... “We won’t go down in history, as proud as we are in our songs.
We won’t be standing in glory with guitars in our hands...”– however, the music written by Krzysztof Klenczon never stopped. It lives on in the hearts of his fans and is still played on stage by numerous performers. After parting ways with Czerwone Gitary, Krzysztof Klenczon was searching for a new artistic path. He founded the band Trzy Korony. Once again, he wrote many hit songs: “Port”, “10 w skali Beauforta”, “Nie przejdziemy do historii”, “Czyjaś dziewczyna”, “Hej słowiki, słowiki”. A lot of good rock music and, as usual, romantic ballads with a Slavic soul, which Klenczon was renowned for. He then emigrated to the United States, settling in Chicago.
He only visited Poland two more times, playing two series of concerts, and recording an album entitled “Powiedz stary gdzieś ty był”. In the United States Klenczon recorded an album entitled “The show never ends” under the stage name Christopher. This work was aimed at the American audience and the songs were written in English. Both of these albums contained some really great songs: “Natalie – Piękniejszy świat”, dedicated to his younger daughter, “Latawce z moich stron”, “Muzyko z tamtej strony dnia”, “Lost soul”, “The show
never ends”, “All for You”. Klenczon wrote several other songs he never recorded, including “Dom” and “Kołysanka” – both were later recorded by the band Żuki. Then came the tragic night, or rather the
tragic morning of 26 February...

What remains are the memories. The memories of his fans, friends, and family. Thanks to them, Krzysztof Klenczon will be remembered, and his music lives on. Klenczon has a street named after him in the Bielany district of Warsaw and in Sopot, as well as a boulevard, a multimedia musical bench and an amphitheatre in Pułtusk. He is also the official patron of the school in Dźwierzuty. One of the bridges in Bydgoszcz and one of the modern trams in Gdańsk were also named in honour of Klenczon. In Szczytno there is a statue of
Krzysztof Klenczon, as well as a park named after the artist.

The reverse of the square-shaped silver coin with a face value of 10 złoty features the image of Krzysztof Klenczon against the background of a fragment of a vinyl disc. The obverse of the coin carries stylised images of a record player tonearm and a fragment of a vinyl record. The record contains a fragment of the song “Biały krzyż”. The music to that song was composed by Krzysztof Klenczon, while the lyrics were written by Janusz Kondratowicz. Krzysztof Klenczon dedicated this song – which has gained cult status – to his father, a soldier of the Polish Home
Army and one of the “Accursed Soldiers” of the anti-Communist underground, who was forced to hide for
many years under an assumed name. The song “Biały krzyż” won the first prize at the Opole Music Festival on
27 June 1969.

Date of issue 15-09-2020

Interesting fact

Price

Date	Mintage	VG	F	VF	XF	AU	UNC
2020 MW	12000	-	-	-	-	-	-

Values in the table are based on evaluations by sales realized on Internet platforms. They serve as an indication only for 10 Zlotys (Krzysztof Klenczon) 2020 coin.