Krzysztof Komeda (komeda.vernet.pl)

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the death of Krzysztof Komeda. A brilliant jazz pianist and one of the most prominent Polish composers of film music, he was not only a friend of Roman Polański but also the composer of music to such celebrated films as"Knife in the Water", "Cul-de-sac", "Rosemary's Baby", and "Night of the Vampires".

Click on the audio icon to listen to the report by Danuta Isler

Krzysztof Komeda whose real name was Krzysztof Trzciński was born in 1931 in Poznan, western Poland. He took music lessons from early childhood and became the member of the Poznań conservatory at the age of eight. After the war he developed a career as a jazz pianist and composer. He also completed medical studies and for some time worked as a physician. But it was music that he ultimately chose as his career. He played with various pop groups from Poznan eventually to develop fascination with modern jazz. The Komeda Sextet became the first Polish jazz group playing modern jazz, and its pioneering performances opened the way for jazz in Poland.

Krzysztof Komeda composed scores to over 50 films but the one he remembers the most is Two Men and a Wardrobe ('Dwaj ludzie z szafą") from 1958, a 20-minute black and white silent movie by Roman Polański illustrating how a relationship between two friends causes them trouble in everyday life.

To mark the 40th anniversary of his death the Museum of Cinematography in the central Polish city of Łódź prepared an exhibition of posters to Roman Polanski's films with music by Krzysztof Komeda. It is currently on display at the 9th Festival of Central and Eastern European Cinema goEast in Wiesbaden, Germany and will arrive to Łódź later this year.