Sir Andrzej Panufnik (September 24, 1914 – October 27, 1991) was a Polish composer, pianist, conductor and pedagogue. He became established as one of the leading Polish composers, and as a conductor he was instrumental in the re-establishment of the Warsaw Philharmonic orchestra after World War II. After his increasing frustration with the extra-musical demands made on him by the country's regime, he defected to England in 1954. He briefly became chief conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, a post he relinquished after two years to devote all his time to composition. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.