[2] From 1952 to 1957, he studied piano and composition at the Conservatory of Vilnius,[4] with Povilas Tamuliūnas [lt] and Julius Juzeliūnas [de].

[5][7] He was an early member of the folklore ensemble Wilia [pl], founded in 1955,[7] focused on Polish folk music.

[4][9] On a scholarship of the Polish Composers' Union, he studied in Paris with Nadia Boulanger in 1963[7][8] and returned in 1966, with a focus on Gregorian chant and medieval polyphony.

[8] He created the operas Tragedy, or the Story of John and Herod [pl] (1965) and Lord Jim after Joseph Conrad's novel (1973),[4] and the ballets The Naked Prince (1960) and Wizard's Sculptures (1963).

[8] History of St. Catherine was premiered at the Grand Theatre, Warsaw in 1985, and produced two years later at the Baltic State Opera in Gdańsk.

[8][7] He published an autobiography in 2000, Było, nie minęło: wspomnienia kompozytora (Been, not Gone: A Composer's Memories), about his creative work, people and events of his life.