Composer, arranger, pianist. Konieczny has created
music for film, theatre, cabaret, and written numerous songs to the
words of Polish and foreign poets.
He spent his childhood in
Szczyrzyc, Malopolskie Province. He has settled, though, in Kraków,
where, in the years 1956-62, he studied at the Academy of Music. In
1959, he became involved with the renowned Kraków literary cabaret
Piwnica pod Baranami. For several years, he was the cabaret’s
only professional composer. His literary songs demonstrate a strong
connection between music and content. Ewa Demarczyk has been one of
the most noted exponents of his music.
He has written music for many
theatre productions, including Andrzej Wajda’s Biesy
[Demons],
Noc listopadowa [November
Night] and Dybuk [The
Dybbuk]; Tadeusz Łomnicki’s Do
piachu [Bite the Dust]; and Maciej Englert’s Mistrz
i Małgorzata
[The Master and Margarita] and Wniebowstąpienie
[Ascension].
He has composed music for more than a hundred television films,
shorts and feature films, including Kuba Czekaj’s
Ciemnego pokoju nie trzeba się bać [Don’t Be Afraid of the
Dark Room] (2009); Jan Jakub Kolski’s
Pornografia [Pornography] (2003), Jasminum
[Jasmine] (2006), Historia kina w Popielawach
[The History of the Cinema in Popielawy] (1998) and Jańcio
Wodnik [Johnnie the Aquarius] (1993); Teresa
Kotlarczyk’s Prymas [The Primate] (2000);
Wojciech Marczewski’s Ucieczka z kina Wolność
[Escape from the ’Liberty’ Cinema] (1990); Tadeusz Konwicki’s
Lawa [Lava] (1989) and Jerzy Gruza’s
Przeprowadzka [Moving] (1972).
He has won
several awards at the Polish Feature Film Festival in Gdynia - for
his soundtracks to: Lava (1990), Pornography
(2003), Escape from the ’Liberty’ Cinema (1990) and
Pogrzeb kartofla [Burial of a Potato]
(1990). Konieczny has received an ’Eagle’ Polish Film Award for
his music for Jasmine (2007) and Szczęśliwy
człowiek [Happy Man] (2002), and a ’Fryderyk’
music industry award for his music for The Primate
(2001).
His compositional style is very distinctive. It combines
a minimalist structure with a sensitivity to subtle harmonic sounds
and an accent on the rhythmic element, often using syncopation and
ostinati.
author’s orchestral materials
list of authors
