Jan A.P. Kaczmarek | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Kaczmarek in 2011 | |
| Born | Jan Andrzej Paweł Kaczmarek (1953-04-29)29 April 1953 |
| Died | 21 May 2024(2024-05-21) (aged 71) Kraków, Poland |
| Alma mater | Adam Mickiewicz University (M.Jur., 1977) |
| Occupation | Composer |
| Years active | 1977–2024 |
| Spouses | |
Jan Andrzej Paweł Kaczmarek (Polish:[janˈandʐɛjˈpavɛwkat͡ʂˈmarɛk]; 29 April 1953 – 21 May 2024) was a Polish composer. He wrotescores for more than 70 feature films and documentaries, includingFinding Neverland (2004), for which he won anOscar and aNational Board of Review Award. Other notable scores were forHachi: A Dog's Tale,Unfaithful,Evening,The Visitor, andWashington Square.[1]
Jan A.P. Kaczmarek was born in 1953 inKonin, Poland.[1][2] Studying music from an early age, he graduated with alaw degree, specializing inlegal theory andphilosophy of law, fromAdam Mickiewicz University inPoznań (1977).[3]
In the late 1970s, Kaczmarek started working withJerzy Grotowski and his innovative Theater Laboratory.[1][4] He created the Orchestra of the Eighth Day in 1977. He recorded his first album,Music for the End (1982), for the United States (US) companyFlying Fish Records.[1]
In 1989, Kaczmarek moved toLos Angeles, California in the US. In 1992 he won theDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Music in a Play for hisincidental music for'Tis Pity She's a Whore.[1] His music has been released bySony Classical,Decca,Varèse Sarabande,Verve,Epic,Milan, and Savitor Records. He gave concerts in the United States and Europe.[1]
In 2005, Kaczmarek received theAcademy Award for Best Original Score forFinding Neverland, directed byMarc Forster, on which he had worked with music editorChristopher Kennedy, among others. Kaczmarek also won theNational Board of Review award for Best Score of the Year and was nominated for aGolden Globe and theBAFTA's Anthony Asquith Award for Achievement in Film Music.[1][5]
In addition to his work in films, Kaczmarek was commissioned to write two symphonic and choral pieces for two important national occasions in Poland:Cantata for Freedom (2005) to celebrate the 25th anniversary of theSolidarity movement, andOratorio 1956 (2006) to commemorate the 50th anniversary of a bloody uprising against totalitarian government in Poznań, Poland. Both premieres were broadcast live on Polish national television. Other concert works of the composer includeJankiel's Concert,The Open Window andFanfare A2. On 10 May 2014, the world premiere ofUniversa – Open Opera, an opera written for the 650th anniversary of theJagiellonian University, was held inKraków's Main Square. Jan's last monumental work,Emigra – The Neverending Symphony, was performed in February 2017 inGdynia, Poland.[6][failed verification]
Kaczmarek was a member of theAmerican Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences,European Film Academy andPolish Film Academy.[1]
In 2007, Kaczmarek began working to set up a film institute in his home country of Poland. Inspired by theSundance Institute, he intended for the new institute to serve as a European center for the development of new work in film, theater, music and new media. HisInstytut Rozbitek (Rozbitek Institute) opened in 2005.[7]
On 1 July 2015, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of theOrder of Polonia Restituta.[8]
Kaczmarek was the founder and director of theTransatlantyk Festival, held yearly inŁódź, Poland.[9]
In 2023, he received the Lifetime AchievementPolish Film Award for his contribution toPolish cinema.[10]
In 2023, Jan's daughter stated that Kaczmarek was suffering frommultiple system atrophy, for which there is no cure.[11] He died in Kraków on 21 May 2024, at the age of 71.[12][13]
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1993 | White Marriage |
| Doppelgänger | |
| 1994 | Gospel According to Harry |
| Dead Girl | |
| 1995 | Total Eclipse |
| 1996 | Bliss |
| 1997 | Washington Square |
| 1999 | Aimée & Jaguar |
| The Third Miracle | |
| 2000 | Lost Souls |
| 2001 | Quo Vadis |
| Edges of the Lord | |
| 2002 | Unfaithful |
| 2004 | Finding Neverland |
| 2006 | Who Never Lived |
| 2007 | The Visitor |
| Hania | |
| Evening | |
| 2008 | The Karamazovs |
| Passchendaele | |
| 2009 | Horsemen |
| City Island | |
| Get Low | |
| Hachiko: A Dog's Story | |
| 2010 | Leonie |
| 2012 | The Time Being |
| 2013 | Tajemnica Westerplatte |
| 2013 | Joanna |
| 2014 | Inbetween Worlds |
| 2014 | Dancing Before the Enemy: How a Teenage Boy Fooled the Nazis and Lived |
| 2016 | La Habitación (Tales of Mexico) |
| 2018 | Paul, Apostle of Christ |
| 2019 | Valley of the Gods |
| 2019 | Underage Engineers |
| 2020 | Magnezja |
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1993 | Night Owl |
| Empty Cradle | |
| 2001 | Shot in the Heart |
| 2002 | A Soldier's Girl |
| 2006 | A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story |
| 2007 | War and Peace |
| 2008 | Pinocchio |
| 2009 | The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler |
| Year | Awards | Category | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | National Board of Review Awards | Outstanding Film Music Composition | Finding Neverland | Won |
| 2005 | Academy Awards | Best Original Score | Won | |
| British Academy Film Awards | Best Original Music | Nominated | ||
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Original Score | Nominated | ||
| 2009 | Czech Lion Awards | Best Music | The Karamazovs | Nominated |
