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Wojciech Kilar,
composer and pianist, b. 17th July 1932 in Lwów (Lvov). He studied piano and composition with Bolesław Woytowicz in the State Higher School of Music in Katowice, graduating with first honours in 1955. In 1955-58, he was assistant lecturer to Woytowicz in the State Higher School of Music in Cracow. In 1957, he took part in the International Summer Courses of New Music in Darmstadt. He continued his musical education in Paris thanks to a French government scholarship (1959-60), attending Nadia Boulanger's composition classes. In 1977 he became a founding member of the Karol Szymanowski Society in Zakopane. For many years, he was also the president of the Polish Composers' Union's branch in Katowice, and in 1979-81 - vice-president of the PCU's Managing Board. He was also a member of the "Warsaw Autumn" International Festival of Contemporary Music Repertoire Committee. In 1991, Krzysztof Zanussi made a film about the composer entitled Wojciech Kilar. For his artistic activity, Kilar received many awards, including: an award of the Lili Boulanger Foundation in Boston (1960), Minister of Culture and Art Award (1967, 1975, 2003), award of the Polish Composers' Union (1975), the Katowice Province award (1971, 1976, 1980), the City of Katowice Award (1975, 1992), State Award, 1st Class (1980), award of the Alfred Jurzykowski Foundation in New York (1984), Artistic Award of the "Solidarity" Free Trade Union Committee for Independent Culture (1989), Wojciech Korfanty Award (1995), The Metropolitan Archbishop of Katowice "Lux ex Silesia" Award (1995) and Sonderpreis des Kulturpreis Schlesien des Landes Niedersachsen (1996). For his film music, he won numerous prizes, such as: in 1975 - at the Polish Film Festival in Gdańsk, for his music for Andrzej Wajda's The Promised Land [Ziemia obiecana], in 1980 - Prix Louis Delluc for music to the animated film Le Roi et l'oiseau (dir. Paul Grimault), in 1981 - at the International Film Festival in Cork, Ireland, for music to Da un paese lontano: Papa Giovanni Paolo II (dir. Krzysztof Zanussi). For his music to Bram Stoker's Dracula (dir. Francis Ford Coppola), Kilar was granted the American Society of Composers, Artists and Producers "ASCAP Award 1992" in Los Angeles and the award for the Best Score Composer for a 1992 Horror Film in San Francisco. In 1991, he was honoured with the Committee for Cinematography Award, and decorated with the Cavalier's Cross (1976) and the Commander's Cross with Star of the Polonia Restituta Order.
works
Until 1974, when Wojciech Kilar composed what is now his most famous work - the symphonic poem Krzesany - he was seen as a leading representative of the Polish musical avant-garde. He had written the ultra-modern (in both sound and form) Riff 62 (1962), which became a symbol of rebellion against tradition, a manifesto for the future. The composition came right in time and won him an extraordinary success at the "Warsaw Autumn" Festival; the Silesian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra conducted by Karol Stryja had to play it as an encore - a rare thing in new music! Kilar's next two pieces - Générique (1963) and Diphtongos (1964) - were greeted in a similar manner. Then, the composer became attracted to a different avant-garde trend, the minimal music, which resulted in two compositions: Upstairs-Downstairs (1971) and Prelude and Carol (1972). It seemed to me, said the composer, that I had just discovered the philosopher's stone, "that nothing is more beautiful than the eternally lasting single sound or chord, that this is the deepest wisdom, not those tricks of ours such as the sonata form, the fugue or harmony." In the 12-minute-long Upstairs-Downstairs, two tones are sounded all the time from the beginning till the very end! From our today's perspective, we could say that Krzesany is a logical consequence of this minimalist period in Kilar's art, because it is minimal music, though as if a rebours. But a quarter of a century ago, the piece was a great shock. Extremely successful with ordinary music-lovers, it was seen as something false by professionals. Be it as it may, the work was tremendously popular from the very start and still remains a favourite with both musicians and the audience. Kilar did not let the audience and the critics rest for too long - two years after Krzesany, he wrote another piece related to the mountains, Kościelec 1909 (1976), dedicated to Mieczysław Karłowicz, the eminent composer who died in an avalanche at the foot of Kościelec at the age of 33, in 1909. Hoary Fog [Siwa mgła] for baritone and orchestra (1979) and Orawa for chamber orchestra (1986) followed in the same style, to which Kilar has remained faithful virtually till the present day. Having almost completely abandoned the avant-garde technical means, he uses a simplified musical language, showing a preference for forceful masses of sound, emphasising the melody and evoking intense emotions. This refers both to works drawing on folk music, particularly - on the folklore of Podhale, and to national-religious works, which reflect the composer's deep faith and patriotic feelings. He also applies a similar technique in film music, the area that brought him great international fame, especially after his collaboration with Francis Ford Coppola on Dracula (1992). Music on a particularly high artistic level was written especially for Krzysztof Zanussi's films.
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compositions
Sonatina for flute and piano * (1951)
Three Preludes for piano * (1951)
Wind Quintet for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn * (1952)
Sonata for horn and piano * (1954)
Symphony No. 1 for strings (1955)
Little Overture for orchestra * (1955)
Symphony No. 2 “Sinfonia concertante” for piano and great symphony orchestra (1956)
Ode Béla Bartók in memoriam for violin, wind instruments and 2 percussions * (1957)
Concerto for two pianos and percussion orchestra (1958)
Herbsttag for female voice and string quartet (1960)
Riff 62 for orchestra * (1962)
Générique for orchestra * (1963)
Diphthongos for mixed choir and orchestra * (1964)
Springfield Sonnet for orchestra * (1965)
Solenne per 67 esecutori * (1967)
Training 68 for clarinet, trombone, cello and piano (1968)
Upstairs-Downstairs for 2 children’s choirs and orchestra * (1971)
Prelude and Carol for 4 oboes and strings * (1972)
Krzesany - symphonic poem * (1974)
Bogurodzica [Mother of God] for mixed choir and orchestra * (1975)
Kościelec 1909 - symphonic poem * (1976)
Hoary Fog for baritone and orchestra * (1979)
Exodus per orchestra e coro misto * (1979-81)
Angelus for soprano, mixed choir and symphony orchestra * (1982-84)
Victoria per coro misto e orchestra * (1983)
Orawa for chamber string orchestra * (1986)
Choralvorspiel für Kammerorchester * (1988)
Concerto for piano and orchestra * (1996-97)
Missa pro pace for soprano, alto, tenor, bass, mixed choir and symphony orchestra (1999-2000)
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literature
Cegiełła Janusz Wojciech Kilar. In: Szkice do autoportretu polskiej muzyki współczesnej [Sketches for a Self-Portrait of Contemporary Music], PWM, Kraków 1976
Machowska Antonina Kilar Wojciech. In: PWM Music Encyclopaedia (biographical part ed. by Elżbieta Dziębowska), vol. “klł”, PWM, Kraków 1997
Podobińska Klaudia, Polony Leszek Cieszę się darem życia. Rozmowy z Wojciechem Kilarem [I Rejoice in the Gift of Life. Interviews with Wojciech Kilar], PWM, Kraków 1997
Żukowska-Sypniewska Izabela Poloneza czas zacząć. O muzyce filmowej Wojciecha Kilara [Let’s Start the Polonaise. On Wojciech Kilar’s Film Music], „Kino” 1999 nr 10, s. 24-26
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