Post by pieter on Aug 8, 2007 4:27:55 GMT -7
No Place Like Home
8 August 2007
Wojciech Kilar is one of Poland's best known film score composers. He has written music for over 150 movies, worked with renowned Polish and American directors, and has been showered with awards. Despite his fame and attempts to lure him abroad, he still lives in a modest house in Silesia-the southern region that he says has shaped his character and the way he works.
Normally reticent about speaking to journalists, on his 75th birthday, Kilar gave an exclusive interview to Jaros?aw Szymonowicz.
You once said that the southern region of Silesia is your place on earth, but one in which you found yourself by accident. Was it fate or a conscious choice?
Indeed, I was born in Lviv, and this is where my family stayed when World War II started. I was nearly 10 years old when we managed to escape Soviet occupation. My parents lived for some time in Rzeszów [in southeast Poland] then, and we later moved to [the southern city of] Katowice. I loved that place from the very first moment.
Why?
Because my problems with mathematics and physics were finally over. My mind completely refused to encompass them since it was preoccupied with just one thing-music. And Katowice had Poland's only music high school at that time. Established before the war, it was and has remained an excellent school. I found myself in a great environment where I never felt a stranger. There I made my first attempt at composing and debuted at a young-talent competition with my own work. I became a school star quite fast.
Are there any music traditions in your family?
My mother was an actress and my father was a physician. They sent me to piano lessons quite early. At the beginning, I wasn't too enthusiastic, but later on I got to like this so much that after high school I studied at the musical academy, which is now named after [Polish composer] Karol Szymanowski and is a real incubator of talent.
How do you remember those years?
This was a wonderful time-also because I met my future wife then. She was a student at the musical high school that I had completed. We-a man from Lviv and a woman from Warsaw-met halfway, in Katowice. Isn't that strange? We have been together for many years. I owe an awful lot to my wife.
The 1940s and '50s, and the following years under communist rule, were a difficult time in Poland. How do you remember that era?
But it was also an interesting time. Many interesting people lived in Silesia then, brought there by the winds of war from different parts of Poland. Katowice teemed with life. The philharmonic was among the most important cultural centers, and going to concerts was one of the things to do. The créme de la créme would meet there.
There were several attempts to lure you away from Silesia.
I received such offers. Once, the culture minister at the time, Józef Tejchma, offered me an apartment in Warsaw. When the authorities of Katowice learned about that, they offered me the house in [the Katowice district of] Brynów where I have lived ever since then. This allowed me to move out of my two-bedroom apartment where my piano playing would disturb the neighbors. Later, I received a solid offer to live in America, in a luxury villa in Malibu. Earlier, I had an opportunity to settle in Paris where I was studying composition under Nadia Boulanger owing to a scholarship from the French government.
Wojciech Kilar: Thanks to my awareness of the place where I live, the values that surround me, the harsh realities of life, and the people who have their feet firmly planted on the ground, artistic experiments have not attracted me much. I do not pursue art for art's sake. My music is understandable to non-professionals, and both music critics and ordinary people come to my concerts.
Throughout your adult life you have been linked with Silesia. But it is rather difficult to trace any Silesian notes in your music. You draw inspiration from highlander culture much more frequently.
What inspires me in Poland is the music of the [central-northern] Kujawy region, which was a rich source of inspiration for Chopin, and highlander music to which I owe such works as Koscielec, Krzesany and Orawa. Silesia inspires me in a completely different way. Maybe you cannot hear that in my music, but it greatly influences my character, lifestyle and the way I work. This land shapes my attitude to many things, prevents me from losing sight of the people around and the values that are most important for them. It also teaches me humility. All this is in me and my music.
Faith has played a strong role in your work, especially in recent years.
The performance of Missa pro pace in the Vatican for the late Pope John Paul II was the crowning achievement of my artistic work. And a letter with his personal signature was the highest reward for me.
Have you always been so close to the church and religion?
I've always had the fear of God that I learned at home and that tells you to do good. But for years I visited churches only when they were empty. Only now do I feel the need for communion with other people and I feel good in a church filled with people.
You are famous not only for your oratorios and symphonic works, but also music scores for over 150 films.
At home, I have a whole pile of film scripts that I did not write music for. I've rejected quite a few offers from some of the major studios.
Has any of your film scores been rejected?
Yes. A few years ago the producer rejected my music for the first part of The Lord of the Rings, despite the director's wish. I agreed to write music only for the first part of the saga, but the filmmakers were not happy with that. And it's just as well, because I was terrified at the thought that more parts of this tale would be created and that I would have to spend an awful lot of time on that.
Are other types of music more important to you?
I've always ranked symphonic music higher than film scores, so when I'm busy writing it, nothing will make me put it aside for any kind of film. In film, my music is just one of many elements, while a symphony or an oratorio is my work from beginning to end.
Wojciech Kilar was born on July 17, 1932 in Lviv, a city that was then part of Poland but is now in Ukraine. He made his debut as a music composer in 1947 at a young-talent competition, performing his own work entitled Dwie miniatury dzieciece (Two Children's Miniatures). He graduated from the State College of Music in Katowice under Prof. Markiewiczowna (piano), Prof. Malawski (theory of music) and Prof. Woytowicz (piano and composition). In 1959-1960 he studied under Nadia Boulanger in Paris on a scholarship from the French government.
He started his musical career in the late 1950s at the Warsaw Autumn festival of contemporary music in Warsaw. He received an award from the Boulanger Foundation for his ode Bela Bartok in memoriam. Beginning in the early 1960s, together with Krzysztof Penderecki and Henryk Górecki he created the Polish avant-garde school of contemporary music and a new trend called sonorism that referred to "serialism" and "dodecaphony," or 12-tone composition.
In the 1970s Kilar simplified his musical language and began to seek folk and religious inspirations. In that period, he created Krzesany (1974), Bogurodzica (1975) for mixed choir and orchestra and Ko?cielec 1909 (1976), a symphonic poem written for the 75th anniversary of the National Philharmonic. Then came Exodus (1980), Angelus (1984), Orawa (1986) and Choralvorspiel (1988). He also composed a mass for peace in the new millennium, Missa pro pace (AD 2000), whose world premiere took place Jan. 12, 2001 at the National Philharmonic in Warsaw.
Kilar is a renowned film score composer. He has written music for over 150 films. He has worked with film directors including Andrzej Wajda, Kazimierz Kutz, Krzysztof Zanussi, Krzysztof Kie?lowski, Stanis?aw Ró?ewicz, Wojciech Has, Tadeusz Konwicki, Marek Piwowski, Roman Polanski, Francis Ford Coppola and Jane Campion.
Kilar has received many Polish and international awards, including an award from the Alfred Jurzykowski foundation, the 1995 Lux ex Silesia award, and the 2000 Z?ote Ber?o award. He received an award for his score for the film Pan Tadeusz. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers honored him for his score to Bram Stoker's Dracula. On Oct. 16, 1998, his name was added to the local Avenue of Stars on Piotrkowska Street in ?ód?.
Kilar has been a member of the Polish Academy of Learning since 1998 and a member of the Jagiellonian University's Council of Patrons. He has an honorary doctorate from Opole University. In 2001 he received the Grand Prize of the Foundation for Culture for outstanding cultural achievement.
This year the composer's 75th birthday was honored with a series of ceremonies known as Kilar Day. The National Symphony Orchestra of Polish Radio in Katowice held a series of concerts in Katowice and Cz?stochowa on that occasion. There were meetings with the composer and a photo exhibition entitled The Artist and His World-Wojciech Kilar about the composer and his hobbies, which include film and spending time in the mountains.
www.warsawvoice.pl/
8 August 2007
Wojciech Kilar is one of Poland's best known film score composers. He has written music for over 150 movies, worked with renowned Polish and American directors, and has been showered with awards. Despite his fame and attempts to lure him abroad, he still lives in a modest house in Silesia-the southern region that he says has shaped his character and the way he works.
Normally reticent about speaking to journalists, on his 75th birthday, Kilar gave an exclusive interview to Jaros?aw Szymonowicz.
You once said that the southern region of Silesia is your place on earth, but one in which you found yourself by accident. Was it fate or a conscious choice?
Indeed, I was born in Lviv, and this is where my family stayed when World War II started. I was nearly 10 years old when we managed to escape Soviet occupation. My parents lived for some time in Rzeszów [in southeast Poland] then, and we later moved to [the southern city of] Katowice. I loved that place from the very first moment.
Why?
Because my problems with mathematics and physics were finally over. My mind completely refused to encompass them since it was preoccupied with just one thing-music. And Katowice had Poland's only music high school at that time. Established before the war, it was and has remained an excellent school. I found myself in a great environment where I never felt a stranger. There I made my first attempt at composing and debuted at a young-talent competition with my own work. I became a school star quite fast.
Are there any music traditions in your family?
My mother was an actress and my father was a physician. They sent me to piano lessons quite early. At the beginning, I wasn't too enthusiastic, but later on I got to like this so much that after high school I studied at the musical academy, which is now named after [Polish composer] Karol Szymanowski and is a real incubator of talent.
How do you remember those years?
This was a wonderful time-also because I met my future wife then. She was a student at the musical high school that I had completed. We-a man from Lviv and a woman from Warsaw-met halfway, in Katowice. Isn't that strange? We have been together for many years. I owe an awful lot to my wife.
The 1940s and '50s, and the following years under communist rule, were a difficult time in Poland. How do you remember that era?
But it was also an interesting time. Many interesting people lived in Silesia then, brought there by the winds of war from different parts of Poland. Katowice teemed with life. The philharmonic was among the most important cultural centers, and going to concerts was one of the things to do. The créme de la créme would meet there.
There were several attempts to lure you away from Silesia.
I received such offers. Once, the culture minister at the time, Józef Tejchma, offered me an apartment in Warsaw. When the authorities of Katowice learned about that, they offered me the house in [the Katowice district of] Brynów where I have lived ever since then. This allowed me to move out of my two-bedroom apartment where my piano playing would disturb the neighbors. Later, I received a solid offer to live in America, in a luxury villa in Malibu. Earlier, I had an opportunity to settle in Paris where I was studying composition under Nadia Boulanger owing to a scholarship from the French government.
Wojciech Kilar: Thanks to my awareness of the place where I live, the values that surround me, the harsh realities of life, and the people who have their feet firmly planted on the ground, artistic experiments have not attracted me much. I do not pursue art for art's sake. My music is understandable to non-professionals, and both music critics and ordinary people come to my concerts.
Throughout your adult life you have been linked with Silesia. But it is rather difficult to trace any Silesian notes in your music. You draw inspiration from highlander culture much more frequently.
What inspires me in Poland is the music of the [central-northern] Kujawy region, which was a rich source of inspiration for Chopin, and highlander music to which I owe such works as Koscielec, Krzesany and Orawa. Silesia inspires me in a completely different way. Maybe you cannot hear that in my music, but it greatly influences my character, lifestyle and the way I work. This land shapes my attitude to many things, prevents me from losing sight of the people around and the values that are most important for them. It also teaches me humility. All this is in me and my music.
Faith has played a strong role in your work, especially in recent years.
The performance of Missa pro pace in the Vatican for the late Pope John Paul II was the crowning achievement of my artistic work. And a letter with his personal signature was the highest reward for me.
Have you always been so close to the church and religion?
I've always had the fear of God that I learned at home and that tells you to do good. But for years I visited churches only when they were empty. Only now do I feel the need for communion with other people and I feel good in a church filled with people.
You are famous not only for your oratorios and symphonic works, but also music scores for over 150 films.
At home, I have a whole pile of film scripts that I did not write music for. I've rejected quite a few offers from some of the major studios.
Has any of your film scores been rejected?
Yes. A few years ago the producer rejected my music for the first part of The Lord of the Rings, despite the director's wish. I agreed to write music only for the first part of the saga, but the filmmakers were not happy with that. And it's just as well, because I was terrified at the thought that more parts of this tale would be created and that I would have to spend an awful lot of time on that.
Are other types of music more important to you?
I've always ranked symphonic music higher than film scores, so when I'm busy writing it, nothing will make me put it aside for any kind of film. In film, my music is just one of many elements, while a symphony or an oratorio is my work from beginning to end.
Wojciech Kilar was born on July 17, 1932 in Lviv, a city that was then part of Poland but is now in Ukraine. He made his debut as a music composer in 1947 at a young-talent competition, performing his own work entitled Dwie miniatury dzieciece (Two Children's Miniatures). He graduated from the State College of Music in Katowice under Prof. Markiewiczowna (piano), Prof. Malawski (theory of music) and Prof. Woytowicz (piano and composition). In 1959-1960 he studied under Nadia Boulanger in Paris on a scholarship from the French government.
He started his musical career in the late 1950s at the Warsaw Autumn festival of contemporary music in Warsaw. He received an award from the Boulanger Foundation for his ode Bela Bartok in memoriam. Beginning in the early 1960s, together with Krzysztof Penderecki and Henryk Górecki he created the Polish avant-garde school of contemporary music and a new trend called sonorism that referred to "serialism" and "dodecaphony," or 12-tone composition.
In the 1970s Kilar simplified his musical language and began to seek folk and religious inspirations. In that period, he created Krzesany (1974), Bogurodzica (1975) for mixed choir and orchestra and Ko?cielec 1909 (1976), a symphonic poem written for the 75th anniversary of the National Philharmonic. Then came Exodus (1980), Angelus (1984), Orawa (1986) and Choralvorspiel (1988). He also composed a mass for peace in the new millennium, Missa pro pace (AD 2000), whose world premiere took place Jan. 12, 2001 at the National Philharmonic in Warsaw.
Kilar is a renowned film score composer. He has written music for over 150 films. He has worked with film directors including Andrzej Wajda, Kazimierz Kutz, Krzysztof Zanussi, Krzysztof Kie?lowski, Stanis?aw Ró?ewicz, Wojciech Has, Tadeusz Konwicki, Marek Piwowski, Roman Polanski, Francis Ford Coppola and Jane Campion.
Kilar has received many Polish and international awards, including an award from the Alfred Jurzykowski foundation, the 1995 Lux ex Silesia award, and the 2000 Z?ote Ber?o award. He received an award for his score for the film Pan Tadeusz. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers honored him for his score to Bram Stoker's Dracula. On Oct. 16, 1998, his name was added to the local Avenue of Stars on Piotrkowska Street in ?ód?.
Kilar has been a member of the Polish Academy of Learning since 1998 and a member of the Jagiellonian University's Council of Patrons. He has an honorary doctorate from Opole University. In 2001 he received the Grand Prize of the Foundation for Culture for outstanding cultural achievement.
This year the composer's 75th birthday was honored with a series of ceremonies known as Kilar Day. The National Symphony Orchestra of Polish Radio in Katowice held a series of concerts in Katowice and Cz?stochowa on that occasion. There were meetings with the composer and a photo exhibition entitled The Artist and His World-Wojciech Kilar about the composer and his hobbies, which include film and spending time in the mountains.
www.warsawvoice.pl/