Bram Stoker
Photograph of Stoker ca. 1906
Born	Abraham Stoker 8 November 1847(1847-11-08) Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland
Died	20 April 1912(1912-04-20) (aged 64) London, England
Occupation	Novelist
Nationality	Irish
Citizenship	British
Period	Victorian era, Edwardian Era
Genres	Gothic, Romantic Fiction
Literary movement	Victorian
Notable work(s)	Dracula
Spouse(s)	Florence Balcombe
Children	Irving Noel Thornley Stoker
Relative(s)	father: Abraham Stoker mother: Charlotte Mathilda Blake Thornley
Influences John Polidori, Sheridan Le Fanu
Influenced Stephen King, Anne Rice, Miroslav Šustek
Signature
www.bramstoker.org

Abraham "Bram" Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula. During his lifetime, he was better known as personal assistant of actor Henry Irving and business manager of the Lyceum Theatre in London, which Irving owned.

[edit] Early life

Stoker was born on 8 November 1847 at 15 Marino Crescent, Clontarf, on the northside of Dublin, Ireland.^[1][2] His parents were Abraham Stoker (1799–1876), from Dublin, and Charlotte Mathilda Blake Thornley (1818–1901), who came from Ballyshannon, County Donegal. Stoker was the third of seven children.^[3] Abraham and Charlotte were members of the Church of Ireland Parish of Clontarf and attended the parish church with their children, who were baptised there.

Stoker was bed-ridden until he started school at the age of seven, when he made a complete recovery. Of this time, Stoker wrote, "I was naturally thoughtful, and the leisure of long illness gave opportunity for many thoughts which were fruitful according to their kind in later years." He was educated in a private school run by the Rev. William Woods.^[4]

After his recovery, he grew up without further major health issues, even excelling as an athlete (he was named University Athlete) at Trinity College, Dublin, which he attended from 1864 to 1870. He graduated with honours in mathematics. He was auditor of the College Historical Society and president of the University Philosophical Society, where his first paper was on "Sensationalism in Fiction and Society".

[edit] Early career

Stoker became interested in the theatre while a student through a friend, Dr. Maunsell. He became the theatre critic for the Dublin Evening Mail, co-owned by the author of Gothic tales Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. Theatre critics were held in low esteem but he attracted notice by the quality of his reviews. In December 1876 he gave a favourable review of Henry Irving's Hamlet at the Theatre Royal in Dublin. Irving invited Stoker for dinner at the Shelbourne Hotel, where he was staying. They became friends. Stoker also wrote stories, and in 1872 "The Crystal Cup" was published by the London Society, followed by "The Chain of Destiny" in four parts in The Shamrock. In 1876, while a civil servant in Dublin, Stoker wrote a non-fiction book (The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland, published 1879), which remained a standard work .^[4] Furthermore, he possessed an interest in art, and was a founder of the Dublin Sketching Club in 1874.^[5]

[edit] Lyceum Theatre and later career

In 1878 Stoker married Florence Balcombe, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel James Balcombe of 1 Marino Crescent. She was a celebrated beauty whose former suitor was Oscar Wilde.^[6] Stoker had known Wilde from his student days, having proposed him for membership of the university’s Philosophical Society while he was president. Wilde was upset at Florence's decision, but Stoker later resumed the acquaintanceship, and after Wilde's fall visited him on the Continent.^[7]

The Stokers moved to London, where Stoker became acting manager and then business manager of Irving's Lyceum Theatre, London, a post he held for 27 years. On 31 December 1879, Bram and Florence's only child was born, a son whom they christened Irving Noel Thornley Stoker. The collaboration with Irving was important for Stoker and through him he became involved in London's high society, where he met James Abbott McNeill Whistler and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (to whom he was distantly related). Working for Irving, the most famous actor of his time, and managing one of the most successful theatres in London made Stoker a notable if busy man. He was dedicated to Irving and his memoirs show he idolised him. In London Stoker also met Hall Caine who became one of his closest friends - he dedicated Dracula to him.

In the course of Irving's tours, Stoker travelled the world, although he never visited Eastern Europe, a setting for his most famous novel. Stoker enjoyed the United States, where Irving was popular. With Irving he was invited twice to the White House, and knew William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Stoker set two of his novels there, using Americans as characters, the most notable being Quincey Morris. He also met one of his literary idols, Walt Whitman.

The first edition cover of Dracula

[edit] Writings

While manager for Irving, and secretary and director of London's Lyceum Theatre, he began writing novels beginning with The Snake's Pass in 1890 and Dracula in 1897. During this period, Stoker was part of the literary staff of the London Daily Telegraph and wrote other fiction, including the horror novels The Lady of the Shroud (1909) and The Lair of the White Worm (1911).^[8] In 1906, after Irving's death, he published his life of Irving, which proved successful,^[4] and managed productions at the Prince of Wales Theatre.

Before writing Dracula, Stoker spent several years researching European folklore and mythological stories of vampires. Dracula is an epistolary novel, written as a collection of realistic, but completely fictional, diary entries, telegrams, letters, ship's logs, and newspaper clippings, all of which added a level of detailed realism to his story, a skill he developed as a newspaper writer. At the time of its publication, it was considered a "straightforward horror novel" based on imaginary creations of supernatural life.^[8] "It gave form to a universal fantasy . . . and became a part of popular culture."^[8]

According to the Encyclopedia of World Biography, Stoker's stories are today included within the categories of "horror fiction," "romanticized Gothic" stories, and "melodrama."^[8] They are classified alongside other "works of popular fiction" such as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein^[9]:394 which, according to historian Jules Zanger, also used the "myth-making" and story-telling method of having "multiple narrators" telling the same tale from different perspectives. "'They can't all be lying,' thinks the reader."^[10]

The original 541-page manuscript of Dracula, believed to have been lost, was found in a barn in northwestern Pennsylvania during the early 1980s.^[11] It included the typed manuscript with many corrections, and handwritten on the title page was "THE UN-DEAD." The author's name was shown at the bottom as Bram Stoker. Author Robert Latham notes, "the most famous horror novel ever published, its title changed at the last minute."^[9]

Stoker's inspirations for the story, in addition to Whitby, may have included a visit to Slains Castle in Aberdeenshire, a visit to the crypts of St. Michan's Church in Dublin and the novella Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu.^[12]

[edit] Death

In Golders Green

After suffering a number of strokes, Stoker died at No. 26 St George's Square on 20 April 1912.^[13] Some biographers attribute the cause of death to tertiary syphilis.^[14] He was cremated, and his ashes placed in a display urn at Golders Green Crematorium. After Irving Noel Stoker's death in 1961, his ashes were added to that urn. The original plan had been to keep his parents' ashes together, but after Florence Stoker's death her ashes were scattered at the Gardens of Rest. To visit his remains at Golders Green, visitors must be escorted to the room the urn is housed in, for fear of vandalism.

[edit] Beliefs and philosophy

Stoker was brought up as a Protestant, in the Church of Ireland. He was a strong supporter of the Liberal party. He took a keen interest in Irish affairs^[4] and was what he called a "philosophical home ruler", believing in Home Rule for Ireland brought about by peaceful means - but as an ardent monarchist he believed that Ireland should remain within the British Empire which he believed was a force for good. He was a great admirer of Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone whom he knew personally, and admired his plans for Ireland.^[15]

Stoker had a strong interest in science and medicine and a belief in progress. Some of his novels like The Lady of the Shroud (1909) can be seen as early science fiction.

Stoker had an interest in the occult especially mesmerism, but was also wary of occult fraud and believed strongly that superstition should be replaced by more scientific ideas. In the mid 1890s, Stoker is rumoured to have become a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, though there is no concrete evidence to support this claim.^[16][17][18] One of Stoker's closest friends was J.W. Brodie-Innis, a major figure in the Order, and Stoker himself hired Pamela Coleman Smith, as an artist at the Lyceum Theater.

[edit] Posthumous

The short story collection Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories was published in 1914 by Stoker's widow Florence Stoker. The first film adaptation of Dracula was released in 1922 and was named Nosferatu. It was directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau and starred Max Schreck as Count Orlock. Nosferatu was produced while Florence Stoker, Bram Stoker's widow and literary executrix, was still alive. Represented by the attorneys of the British Incorporated Society of Authors, she eventually sued the filmmakers. Her chief legal complaint was that she had been neither asked for permission for the adaptation nor paid any royalty. The case dragged on for some years, with Mrs. Stoker demanding the destruction of the negative and all prints of the film. The suit was finally resolved in the widow's favour in July 1925. Some copies of the film survived, however and the film has become well known. The first authorized film version of Dracula did not come about until almost a decade later when Universal Studios released Tod Browning's Dracula starring Bela Lugosi.

Because of the Stokers' frustrating history with Dracula's copyright, a great-grandnephew of Bram Stoker, Canadian writer Dacre Stoker, with encouragement from screenwriter Ian Holt, decided to write "a sequel that bore the Stoker name" to "reestablish creative control over" the original novel. In 2009, Dracula: The Un-Dead was released, written by Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt. Both writers "based [their work] on Bram Stoker's own handwritten notes for characters and plot threads excised from the original edition" along with their own research for the sequel. This also marked Dacre Stoker's writing debut.^[19][20]

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Novels

Bram Stoker Commemorative Plaque, Whitby, England (2002)

• The Primrose Path (1875)
• The Snake's Pass (1890)
• The Watter's Mou' (1895)
• The Shoulder of Shasta (1895)
• Dracula (1897)
• Miss Betty (1898)
• The Mystery of the Sea (1902)
• The Jewel of Seven Stars (1903)
• The Man (aka: The Gates of Life) (1905)
• Lady Athlyne (1908)
• The Lady of the Shroud (1909)
• The Lair of the White Worm (aka: The Garden of Evil) (1911)

[edit] Short story collections

• Under the Sunset (1881), comprising eight fairy tales for children.
• Snowbound: The Record of a Theatrical Touring Party (1908)
• Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories (1914)

[edit] Uncollected stories

• "The Bridal of Death" (alternate ending to The Jewel of Seven Stars)
• "Buried Treasures"
• "The Chain of Destiny"
• "The Crystal Cup"
• "The Dualitists; or, The Death Doom of the Double Born"
• "Lord Castleton Explains" (chapter 10 of The Fate of Fenella)
• "The Gombeen Man" (chapter 3 of The Snake's Pass)
• "In the Valley of the Shadow"
• "The Man from Shorrox"
• "Midnight Tales"
• "The Red Stockade"
• "The Seer" (chapters 1 and 2 of The Mystery of the Sea)

[edit] Non-fiction

• The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland (1879)
• A Glimpse of America (1886)
• Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving (1906)
• Famous Impostors (1910)
• Bram Stoker's Notes for Dracula: A Facsimile Edition (2008) Bram Stoker Annotated and Transcribed by Robert Eighteen-Bisang and Elizabeth Miller, Foreword by Michael Barsanti. Jefferson NC & London: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-3410-7

[edit] Critical works on Stoker

• William Hughes, Beyond Dracula (Palgrave, 2000) ISBN 0312231369 ^[21]

• Belford, Barbara. Bram Stoker. A Biography of the Author of Dracula. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1996.

[edit] References and notes

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Bram Stoker

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bram Stoker

• Bram Stoker at the Open Directory Project
• Bram Stoker at the Internet Movie Database
• h2g2 article on Bram Stoker
• Bram Stoker's brief biography and works
• 20 Common Misconceptions and Other Miscellaneous Information
• The Stoker Dracula Organisation
• Gothic and Stoker Studies at Bath Spa University

[edit] Online texts

Wikisource has original works written by or about: Bram Stoker

• Works by Bram Stoker at Project Gutenberg Full text versions of some of Stoker's novels.
• Bram Stoker Online Full text and PDF versions of most of Stoker's works.
• Bram Stoker's Dracula Full text of Stoker's novel Dracula.
• Works by Bram Stoker on Open Library at the Internet Archive

This article's citation style may be unclear. The references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of citation, footnoting, or external linking. (June 2010)

Wojciech Kilar
Wojciech Kilar presenting his Omega Seamaster
Born	Wojciech Kilar 17 July 1932(1932-07-17) Lwow, Poland now in Ukraine
Nationality	Polish
Occupation	Composer
Spouse	Barbara Pomianowska (April 1966 to November 2007)

Wojciech Kilar (Polish pronunciation: [ˈvɔjt͡ɕex kilar] (pronounced phonetically: Voy-cheh Kee-lahr) ; b. 17 July 1932 in Lwów, Poland) is a Polish classical and film music composer.

[edit] Biography

Wojciech Kilar is one of Poland’s esteemed composers. Born in 1932 in Lwów (now a city in Ukraine, it was part of Poland at the time). ^[1] His father was a gynecologist and his mother was a theater actress. Kilar has spent most of his life since 1948 in the city of Katowice in Southern Poland,^[2] married (from April 1966 to November 2007) to Barbara Pomianowska, a pianist.^[3] Kilar was 22 years old when he met 18 year old Barbara, his future wife.^[4]

[edit] Education

Kilar studied at some of Poland's finest music academies, including the State Higher School of Music in Katowice, under the composer and pianist Władysława Markiewiczówna, graduating with top honors in 1955. He continued his post-graduate studies at the State Higher School of Music in Kraków from 1955 to 1958 under composer and pianist Bolesław Woytowicz. In 1957 he participated in the International New Music Summer Course in Darmstadt. Kilar expanded on his musical education in Paris in 1959-60, when a scholarship from the French government allowed him to study composition under Nadia Boulanger^[5].

[edit] Music career

Wojciech Kilar, October 28, 2005

^[6] Wojciech Kilar belonged (together with Boleslaw Szabelski, his student Henryk Górecki and Krzysztof Penderecki) to the Polish Avant-garde music movement of the Sixties. In 1977 Kilar was one of the founding members of the Karol Szymanowski Society, based in the mountain town of Zakopane. Kilar chaired the Katowice chapter of the Association of Polish Composers for many years and from 1979-81 was vice chair of this association's national board. He was also a member of the Repertoire Committee for the "Warsaw Autumn" International Festival of Contemporary Music. In 1991 Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Zanussi made a biographical film about the composer titled Wojciech Kilar.

Having received critical success as a classical composer, Kilar scored his first domestic film in 1959, and has since gone on to write music from some of Poland's most acclaimed directors, including Krzysztof Kieslowski, Krzysztof Zanussi, Kazimierz Kutz and Andrzej Wajda. He worked on over 100 titles in his home country, including internationally recognised titles such as Bilans Kwartalny (1975), Spirala (1978), Constans (1980), Imperativ (1982), Rok Spokojnego Slonca (1984), and Zycie za Zycie (1991), plus several others in France and across other parts of Europe. He made his English-language debut with Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of Dracula. His other English language features — Roman Polanski's trio Death and the Maiden (1994), The Ninth Gate (1999) and The Pianist (2002), and Jane Campion's The Portrait of a Lady (1996) — were typified by his trademark grinding basses and cellos, deeply romantic themes and minimalist chord progressions.

In addition to his film work, Kilar continues to write and publish purely classical works, which have included a horn sonata, a piece for a wind quintet, several pieces for chamber orchestra and choir, the acclaimed Baltic Canticles, the epic Exodus (famous as the trailer music from Schindler's List), a Concerto for Piano and Orchestra dedicated to Peter Jablonski, and his major work, the “September Symphony” (2003).^[6]

Having abandoned Avant-garde music technical means almost entirely, he continues to employ a simplified musical language, in which sizable masses of sound serve as a backdrop for highlighted melodies. This occurs in those compositions that reference folk music (especially Polish Highlander Gorals folk melodies) and in patriotic and religious pieces.

[edit] Awards

Wojciech Kilar has received numerous awards for his artistic activity and achievements, including prizes from the Lili Boulanger Foundation in Boston (1960), the Minister of Culture and Art (1967, 1975), the Association of Polish Composers (1975), the Katowice province (1971, 1976, 1980), and the city of Katowice (1975, 1992).^[7] He has also been awarded the First Class Award of Merit of the Polish Republic (1980), the Alfred Jurzykowski Foundation Prize in New York City (1984), the Solidarity Independent Trade Union Cultural Committee Arts Award (1989), the Wojciech Korfanty Prize (1995), the "Lux ex Silesia" Prize bestowed by the Archbishop and Metropolitan of Katowice (1995), and the Sonderpreis des Kulturpreis Schlesien des Landes Niedersachsen (1996).

Kilar's film scores have also won him many honors. He received the best score award for the music to Ziemia obiecana / The Promised Land (dir. Andrzej Wajda) at the Festival of Polish Films in Gdansk in 1975. This was followed by the Prix Louis Delluc, which Kilar was awarded in 1980 for the music to an animated film titled Le Roi et l'Oiseau / The King and the Mockingbird, (dir. Paul Grimault). One year later he collected an award at the Cork International Film Festival for the music to Papież Jan Pawel II / Pope John Paul II / Da un paese lontano: Papa Giovanni Paulo II (dir. Krzysztof Zanussi).

Perhaps his greatest success came with his score to Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula, for which Kilar received the ASCAP Award 1992 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 in 1992. The Polish State Cinema Committee honored Kilar with a lifetime achievement award in 1991, while in 1976 he was decorated with the Cavaliers' Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta. In November 2008 Kilar was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.

[edit] List of major awards

• 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)
• The Polish Cultural Foundation Award (2000)
• The 1992 ASCAP Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Producers in Los Angeles for his score for the Coppola horror film Bram Stoker's Dracula.
• The prize for best score in a horror film, Bram Stoker's Dracula (San Francisco, 1992)
• 2002 BAFTA Awards - Nominee
• Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music - The Pianist (2002 film)^[1]

[edit] Works

The vast majority of Wojciech Kilar's work remains undiscovered by the music public at large, despite having written music for well over 100 films, including: Bram Stoker's Dracula, Death and the Maiden, The Portrait of a Lady, The Ninth Gate, The Truman Show, Pan Tadeusz, The Pianist, Zemsta, and We Own the Night.^[8]

Presently Kilar composes 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 2001, it was performed again in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican in the presence of Pope John Paul II.^[9] His 1984 composition Angelus was used in the motion picture City of Angels; Orawa, from 1988, found its use in the Santa Clara Vanguard's 2003 production, "Pathways", as well as Grants Pass High School's 2010 production, "Traffic", which named them the 2010 NWAPA champion.

For most of his life, Kilar's output has been dominated by music for film with a small but steady stream of concert works. Post 2000, he 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 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 premiered in November 2008.^[6] Kilar was quoted as saying that he believed he had discovered the philosopher's stone, and that "there was nothing more beautiful than the solitary sound or concord that lasted eternally, that this was the deepest wisdom, nothing like our tricks with sonata allegros, fugues, and harmonics." ^[10] Kilar's works have been performed by several major international orchestras, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic.

[edit] Selected 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)
• The Doll (1968 film) (Lalka) (1968)
• 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)
• Tredowata (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)
• From A Far Country (1981)
• Przypadek (Blind chance) (1982)
• Paradigma (1985)
• Chronicle of Amorous Events(1986)
• 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)

[edit] 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)
• Exodus (1981)
• Angelus (1984), for symphony orchestra, soprano, and mixed choir
• Orawa, for string orchestra (1988)
• Choralvorspiel (Choral Prelude), for string orchestra, (1988)
• Requiem Father Kolbe, for symphony orchestra (1994)
• Missa Pro Pace (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
• Veni Creator (2008), for mixed chorus and strings
• Paschalis Hymn (2008) for chorus
• Uwertura uroczysta [Solemn Overture] (2010) for orchestra

[edit] Concertante

• Symphony Concertant, for piano and orchestra (1956)
• Piano Concerto No.1 (1996)
• Piano Concerto No.2 (2011)

[edit] Chamber

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

[edit] Piano

Numerous solo piano pieces

[edit] Personal quotes

• ^[11] Every graduate... at the conservatoire is able to compose a Symphony, and maybe it will even receive a performance. But to write a melody which is sung and played by hundreds of interpreters is something one really has to be born to – ideally in America. A good thing for us (not for him, as one has to admit) that Wladyslaw Szpilman, our Cole Porter, Gershwin, Paul McCartney, was born in Poland....
• Highlander's music is an inexhaustible source of muse. My most popular pieces have been played for more than 30 years; and I owe it to highlander's music (Gorals music).
• I was forced to learn music (laughs). My father was a doctor, mother an actress, so my house was full of artistic atmosphere.
• I turned down the proposition to compose music for Femme Fatale directed by Brian De Palma and I regret it very much, because I wanted to write music for this film.
• I would like to be remembered as a good human being, someone who brought little happiness, hope and reflection into life and into the world and perhaps a bit of faith by those religious pieces. If I were to die seeing that just one person had converted because of me, I would have been satisfied.^[12]

[edit] Political views

During the 2007 election campaign for the National Assembly of the Republic of Poland Wojciech Kilar made a number of official statements of his support for Prawo i Sprawiedliwość.^[13]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wojciech Kilar

• Official website
• Wojciech Kilar at the Internet Movie Database
• Composer's website
• Kilar at the Polish Music Center
• Interview with Wojciech Kilar