Jan A.P. Kaczmarek passew away - an outstanding composer, Oscar winner, who had been struggling with a sean outstanding composer, Oscar winner, who had been struggling with a serious, incurable disease for several years. Information about the death was provided by the Polish Music Foundation.
He was born on April 29, 1953 in Konin. He received his first music lessons from his grandfather, who was an amateur musician. At school he started creating music for school plays. In the 1970s, he studied law at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.
During his internship at the avant-garde Laboratory Theater of Jerzy Grotowski, he created the musical setting for the performances of the Theater of the Eighth Day and the Polish Theater in Poznań. Then, together with Grzegorz Banaszak, he founded the Orchestra of the Eighth Day, with which he toured many countries in the 1980s. In 1989, as part of a scholarship from the Department of State, he went to the USA, where he settled with his wife Elżbieta and four children. He wrote music for film and theater.
In 1993, he received the Drama Desk and Off-Broadway Theater Award for the best theater music of the year, and in 2005, the Academy Award for the score for the film "Finding Neverland", directed by Marc Forster, with the participation of, among others, Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Radha Mitchell and Dustin Hoffman. In the same year, he received the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture, Gloria Artis, awarded by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage.
He composed music for over 70 films, such as: "The Unfaithful" by Adrian Lyne, "Aimée i Jaguar" by Max Farberbock, "Lost Souls" by Janusz Kamiński and "Quo Vadis" by Jerzy Kawalerowicz. He collaborated with Lech Majewski and Agnieszka Holland, for whom he musically illustrated, among others: “Total Eclipse,” “Washington Square,” and “The Third Miracle.” He also composed autonomous pieces, usually written for large orchestral ensembles and choirs, including "Cantata for Freedom", which he commemorated the 25th anniversary of the signing of the August Agreements and the founding of Solidarity, and "Universa - Open Opera" - a work written on the occasion of the 650th anniversary of the University Jagielloński.
In Poland, Jan A.P. Kaczmarek created the Rozbitek Institute (in Rozbitek, Kwilcz commune), whose aim is educational and artistic activities, including: connecting young composers with producers and renowned artists. He is also the initiator and organizer of the Transatlantyk festival.
In 2023, commemorations dedicated to the composer were unveiled on the Krakow and Łódź Avenue of Stars.
He died after a long fight with a serious, incurable disease.
source: Ministry of Culture and National Heritage
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