Wojciech Kilar Biography

The recipient of numerous international awards, including the Lili Boulanger Memoria Fund Award of Boston (1960), and two awards from the Polish Minister of Culture in 1967 and 1976, Wojciech Kilar is one of Poland’s most famous and highly respected composers. Heavily influenced by the music of John Cage, Kilar is known for integrating elements of Polish folk music with classical pieces. His most influential works include A Short Overture, Ode to Bela Bartok in Memoriam and Exodus. Kilar has scored many films since he provided the music for Glos Z Tamtego Swiata/The Voice from Beyond in 1962. He has worked extensively with such Polish directors as Krysztof Zanussi and Andrzej Wajda, but Kilar also occasionally scores international productions. His work for Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) earned Kilar the ASCAP Award.