Wojciech Kilar

Wojciech Kilar IPA2|ˈvɔjtɕɛx kilar (b. 17 July 1932 in Lwów, Polandnow L'viv, Ukraine) is a Polish classical and film music composer.

Life

Kilar studied at the State College of Music in Katowice, Poland under the composer/pianist Wladyslawa Markiewiczowna, graduating with top honors in 1955. He continued his graduate studies at the State College of Music in Cracow from 1955 to 1958 under composer/pianist Bolesław Woytowicz. His studies continued in Paris with Nadia Boulanger from 1959 to 1960.

He has won several prizes for his works and belongs (together with Krzysztof Penderecki and Henryk Górecki) to the Polish avant-garde movement of the Sixties. His orchestral work "Krzesany" (Climbing up the mountains) from 1974 became famous, but since the mid 1970s he has become well known as a composer of film scores, scoring more than 100 films in Poland, France, Germany, and Hollywood, working with directors such as Roman Polanski, Francis Ford Coppola, and Jane Campion.

He is still publishing symphonic music, chamber works and works for solo instruments. January 2001 saw the world premiere of his "Missa pro pace" (composed for a full symphony orchestra, mixed choir and a quartet of soloists) at the National Philharmonic in Warsaw. The work was written to commemorate the Warsaw Philharmonic's centennial. In December of that year it was performed again at the Vatican in the presence of Pope John Paul II. [Czerwińska, I., [http://www.warsawvoice.pl/archiwum.phtml/5849/ "Mass for Peace"] , "The Warsaw Voice", 16 December 2001. (accessed 1 October 2007)]

His awards include the French Lili Boulanger Prize for composition (1960), the Polish Ministry of Culture and Arts Award (1967 and 1976), the Polish Composers Union Award (1975), the French Prix Louis Delluc (1980), the Alfred Jurzykowski Foundation Award (1984, USA), and the Polish Cultural Foundation Award (2000). His score for the Coppola horror film Bram Stoker's Dracula garnered the 1992 ASCAP Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Producers in Los Angeles and the prize for best score in a horror film in San Francisco.

His 1988 composition "Orawa" was used in the Santa Clara Vanguard's 2003 production, "Pathways".

For most of his mature life Kilar's output has been dominated by music for film with a small but steady stream of concert works. Post 2000, the composer has turned to "music of a singular authorship." Since his 2003 "September Symphony," (Symphony No.3), a four-movement full scale symphony written for the composer's friend conductor Antoni Wit, Kilar has returned to absolute music. September Symphony was the first symphony by the composer since 1955's "Symphony for Strings"(along with another student symphony) and Kilar considered it his first mature symphony (composed at age 71).

Since 2003, Kilar has been steadily producing large scale concert works. His "Lament" (2003)for unaccompanied mixed choir, his Symphony No.4 "Sinfonia de Motu" (Symphony of Motion)from 2005 written for large orchestra, choir and soloists, his "Magnificat" mass from 2006, Symphony No.5 "Advent Symphony" from 2007 and another large mass, "Te Deum" set to premiere in November 2008.

Works

Orchestral

* "Small Overture" (1955), for the Youth Festival, 1955
* "Symphony for Strings" (1955)
* "Ode Béla Bartók in memoriam", for violin, brass, and percussion (1956)
* "Riff 62" (1962)
* "Generique" (1963)
* "Springfield Sonnet" (1965)
* "Prelude and Christmas Carol", for four oboes and string orchestra (1972)
* "Krzesany" (1974)
* "Kóscielec" (1976)
* "Orawa", for string orchestra (1988)
* "Choralvorspiel", for string orchestra, (1988)
* "Requiem Father Kolbe", for symphony orchestra (1994)
* "Missa Pro Pace (A.D. 2000)", for orchestra, chorus, and soloists
* "Lament (2003)", for mixed unaccompanied choir
* "Symphony No.3 "September Symphony" (2003) for orchestra
* "Symphony No.4"Sinfonia de Motu (Symphony of Motion) (2005)", for orchestra, chorus, and soloists
* "Magnificat (2007)", for orchestra, chorus, and soloists
* "Symphony No. 5 "Advent Symphony" (2007)", for orchestra, chorus, and soloists
* "Te Deum'(2008), for orchestra, chorus, and soloists

Concertante

* "Symphony Concertant", for piano and orchestra (1956)
* Piano Concerto (1996)

Chamber

* Flute Sonatina (1951)
* Woodwind Quintet (1952)
* "Training 68", for clarinet, trombone, and piano, (1968)

Piano

Numerous solo piano pieces

Film music

* "Nikt nie woła" ("Nobody's calling") (1960)
* "Tarpany" ("Wild Horses") (1962)
* "Głos z tamtego świata" ("Voice from beyond") (1962)
* "Milczenie" ("Silence") (1963)
* "Trzy kroki po ziemi" ("Three steps on Earth") (1965)
* "Piekło i niebo" ("Hell and heaven") (1966)
* "Bicz boży" ("God's whip") (1967)
* "Lalka" ("The Doll") (1969)
* "Rejs" ("Cruise") (1970)
* "Bolesław Śmiały" ("King Boleslaus the Bold") (1972)
* "Opętanie" ("Obsession") (1973)
* "Ziemia obiecana" ("Land of Promise") (1974)
* "Smuga cienia" ("The shadow line") (1976)
* "Ptaki ptakom" ("Bords to birds") (1977)
* "Barwy ochronne" ("Camouflage") (1977)
* "Spirala" ("Spiral") (1978)
* "Rodzina Polanieckich" (TV Series) (1978)
* "Le Roi et l'Oiseau" (The King and the Mockingbird) (1980)
* "Przypadek" ("Blind chance") (1982)
* "Paradigma" (1985)
* "Salsa" (1988)
* "Gdzieśkolwiek jest, jesliś jest" ("Wherever you are, if you are") (1988)
* "Stan posiadania" ("Inventory") (1989)
* "Życie za życie" (about Maximilian Kolbe) (1991)
* "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (1992)
* "Dotknięcie ręki" ("A touch of the hand") (1992)
* "Death and the Maiden" (1994)
* "The Portrait of a Lady" (1996)
* "Deceptive Charm" (1996)
* "Brat naszego Boga" ("Our God's brother") (1997)
* "The Truman Show" (1998) (parts from "Requiem Father Kolbe")
* "The Ninth Gate" (1999)
* "Pan Tadeusz" (1999)
* "Life As a Fatal Sexually Transmitted Disease" (2000)
* "Le Pianiste" (2002)
* "Zemsta" ("Revenge") (2002)
* "We Own the Night" (2007)
* "Il Sole Nero" (2007)

References

External links

*
* [http://www.usc.edu/dept/polish_music/composer/kilar.html Kilar at the Polish Music Center]
* [http://www.pljournal.com/music/wojciech-kilar-interview.html Interview with Wojciech Kilar]