Bronisław Kaper
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Bronisław Kaper (misspelled by the U.S. immigration authorities as Bronislau Kaper) (February 5, 1902 - April 26, 1983) was a Polish film composer who scored films in Germany, France and USA. He will be remebered for his scores for the 1953 musical Lili, and the 1965-74 TV series The F.B.I.. He has been also credited as Bronsilaw Kaper, Bronislaw Kapper, Benjamin Kapper and Edward Kane.
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[edit] Biography
Bronisław Kaper was born in Warsaw on February 2, 1902. He played piano at the age of six. He studied composition and piano at the Warsaw Conservatory and at the same time, at the demand of his father, he followed the studies at the Law School of the Warsaw University. Already as a young man, he was a talented pianist. After his studies Kaper went to to Berlin - then a city with many theaters and cabarets, where many artists from Eastern Europe - mainly Russia, Poland and Hungary were trying their luck.
In the late 1920s Kaper met in Berlin another young composer - an Austrian Walter Jurmann, and the two decided to work as a team, first in Berlin and then, after the Nazis took power in Germany, in Paris. Introduction of sound into the cinema created big possibilities for their talents. In Paris they composed music for films directed by film makers who fled Hitler.
In 1935, upon being offered a seven-year contract with MGM by Louis B. Mayer,Bronisław Kaper and Jurmann emigrated to the United States, where they continued their work. One of their in the US first movies has been the Marx Brothers hit comedy A Night at the Opera (1935), for which they scored the song "Cosi-Cosa".
In Los Angeles Kaper has been a member of a large and influential community of German exiles, who escaped the Nazis rule in their country. His circle at the beginning of the 1940´s included Thomas and Heinrich Mann, Bertolt Brecht, Lion Feuchtwanger, Max Reinhardt, Berthold and Salka Viertel.[1]
Kaper composed music for nearly 150 Hollywood movies, and won an Oscar for the musical Lili. He co-wrote the song "San Francisco" for the film San Francisco. He was also known for composing the theme music and several scores for the Quinn Martin television series The F.B.I..
Bronisław Kaper died in Beverly Hills, California on April 26, 1983.
[edit] Credits on Broadway
- Polonaise (1945) - musical - composer
- Mostly Sondheim (2002) - concert - featured songwriter
[edit] Recordings - Film Scores
Compared with other film composers, Kaper was less well-represented in commercially available recordings of his film scores during his lifetime. This has changed recently, as Them! has been released on compact disc in a re-recording by the Monstrous Movie Music label. Recent changes in legal issues related to older music has also allowed original music tracks to many of his scores to be released on compact disc, primarily by another specialty label, Film Score Monthly (Lili, Home from the Hill, and others).
[edit] The Bronisław Kaper Awards
The Bronisław Kaper Awards For Young Artists are held annually by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the piano and strings instrumental categories, which alternate each year. Named in honor of Bronisław Kaper, who served for more than 15 years as a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association's Board of Directors, the Awards encourage the development of young and gifted musicians. Award winners receive monetary awards: first place receiving $2,500, second place receiving $2,000 and Most Promising Musician winning $500.
The 2007 Bronisław Kaper Awards competition will be for string players.
[edit] Reference
1.Salka Viertel, The Kindness of Strangers, (New York: Rinehart,1969), pages 250-251
[edit] External links
- Bronislaw Kaper Filmography/Discography at Soundtrack Collector
