Leszek Możdżer (Polish pronunciation: born Lesław Henryk Możdżer, 23 March 1971,

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

) is a Polish

jazz pianist Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the Musical ...

music producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

and

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

composer.

Life and career

Możdżer was born on 23 March 1971 in

. He began to play the piano at his parents' suggestion when he was five. In 1996, he received his diploma from the

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Academy of Music in Gdańsk. He studied in the piano class under Andrzej Artykiewicz. He began his artistic career in clarinettist Emil Kowalewski's band and subsequently with the Miłość music band. The artist has collaborated with film score composers Jan A.P. Kaczmarek and

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. He formed a jazz trio together with double-bassist

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and drummer

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. Other prominent artists he has collaborated with include

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, L.U.C,

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. In 1994, he claimed 1st place at the International Jazz Improvisation Contest in

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. In 1998, he received the Jazzman of the Year Fryderyk Award. In 1999, he became the laureate of the Gdansk Mayor Award for his outstanding artistic achievements. In 2001, he was awarded the Ad Astra Award bestowed by the Polish

Ministry of Culture and National Heritage The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage () is a ministry within Polish government led by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage responsible for national heritage preservation and Polish culture promotion. Ministry oversees state o ...

to "an outstanding young musician". In 2004, he received the Paszport Polityki Award in the entertainment category. In 2011, he won another Fryderyk Award for best original soundtrack for his album Kaczmarek by Możdżer, a collection of contemporary film music. In 2013, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

. In 2010, he performed a special music show at the Węglowy Targ in Gdańsk as part of the Solidarity of Arts 2010 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the foundation of the

Solidarity movement Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

as well as the 200th anniversary of

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

's birth. In 2012, he served as a member of jury at the Montreux Jazz Piano Competition. In 2017, his opera ''Immanuel Kant'' based on the works of

Thomas Bernhard Nicolaas Thomas Bernhard (; 9 February 1931 – 12 February 1989) was an Austrian novelist, playwright, poet and polemicist who is considered one of the most important German-language authors of the postwar era. He explored themes of death, iso ...

premiered at the

Wrocław Opera The Wrocław Opera ( Polish: ''Opera Wrocławska'') is an opera company and opera house in the Old Town of Wrocław, Poland. The opera house was opened in 1841 and up to 1945 was named after the city's then German name, Oper Breslau. History An ...

Discography

Studio albums

Collaborative albums

References

External links