Michał Lorenc (Polish: ; born 5 October 1955 in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

) is a Polish film score composer, best known for his work on films '' Little Rose'' (2010), ''

Bastard Bastard or The Bastard may refer to: Parentage * Illegitimate child, a child born to unmarried parents, in traditional Western family law ** Bastard, an archaic term used in English and Welsh bastardy laws, reformed in 1926 People * "The Bastard" ...

'' (1997), '' Blood and Wine'' (1996), ''

Psy Park Jae-sang (; born December 31, 1977), better known by his stage name Psy ( ; ), is a South Korean rapper and singer-songwriter, known domestically for his humorous music videos and stage performances and internationally for his hit singl ...

'' (1992) and '' 300 Miles to Heaven'' (1989). He is currently considered one of the most important contemporary Polish

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 ...

composers A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and defi ...

Career

He was born on 5 October 1955 in

. In 1973, he joined the

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

''Wolna grupa Bukowina'' founded by

Wojciech Belon Wojciech Belon (March 14, 1952 in Kwidzyn – May 3, 1985 in Kraków), also known as Wojtek Bellon, was a Polish poet, songwriter and folksinger. His best known ballad ''Majster Bieda (Master Poor)'' and most of his compositions have never been r ...

and remained one of its members for four years. In the 1970s, he collaborated with

Marcin Wolski Marcin Wolski (born 22 July 1947 in Łódź) is a Polish writer, journalist and satirist. Member of the communist PZPR party from 1975 to 1981. As a journalist, he writes for '' Wprost'', '' Gazeta Polska''Waldemar Kumór, "Czy musiało do te ...

on Polish Radio Programme 3 and frequently appeared on

Maciej Zembaty Maciej Zembaty (16 May 194427 June 2011) was a Polish artist, writer, journalist, singer, poet and comedian. Despite being considered one of the classics of Polish black humour, he is perhaps best known as a translator and populariser of songs an ...

's radio show ''Zgryz''. Between 1979-1981, he was one of the members of ''Teatr panoramiczny'' together with Jacek Kleyff and Michał Tarkowski. Since his debut in 1979, Lorenc has composed music for more than 150

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

documentaries A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill ...

, TV series and theatre performances. He has won five Golden Lions at the

Gdynia Film Festival The Gdynia Film Festival aka FPFF (until 2011: Polish Film Festival, Polish: ''Festiwal Polskich Filmów Fabularnych w Gdyni'') is an annual film festival first held in Gdańsk (1974–1986), now held in Gdynia, Poland. It has taken place every ...

and

Polish Film Festival The Gdynia Film Festival aka FPFF (until 2011: Polish Film Festival, Polish: ''Festiwal Polskich Filmów Fabularnych w Gdyni'') is an annual film festival first held in Gdańsk (1974–1986), now held in Gdynia, Poland. It has taken place every ...

Award for best movie score. The films and

TV series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

in which his film scores appear include ''

Sekal Has to Die ''Sekal Has to Die'' (, ) is a 1998 Czech film directed by Vladimír Michálek. It was the Czech Republic's submission to the 71st Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee.Margaret Her ...

'', '' Little Rose'', '' 300 Miles to Heaven'', ''

A Prominent Patient ''A Prominent Patient'' () is a 2016 Czech-Slovak biographical drama film directed by Julius Ševčík. It was screened in the Berlinale Special section at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival. It won twelve Czech Lions including the Czec ...

'', ''

Ojciec Mateusz ''Ojciec Mateusz'' ( English: ''Father Matthew'') is a Polish television drama series, which has aired on TVP1 since November 11, 2008. It is a Polish version of the Italian detective series ''Don Matteo'' broadcast in Italy by Rai Uno. ...

'', ''

'', '' Fotoamator'', ''

Four Nights with Anna ''Four Nights with Anna'' () is a 2008 drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. It stars Artur Steranko and Kinga Preis. It tells the story of a man who visits a woman in her sleep. The film had its world premiere as the opening film of the Dire ...

'', '' Kołysanka'', '' Exit in Red'', ''Kanalia'', ''Sauna'', ''Kroll'', ''Deborah'', ''Przedwiośnie'', ''Żurek'', ''Glina'', ''Złoto dezerterów'', ''Amok'' and ''Nic''. In 1996, he wrote the score for

Bob Rafelson Robert Jay Rafelson (February 21, 1933 – July 23, 2022) was an American film director, writer and producer. He is regarded as one of the key figures in the founding of the New Hollywood movement of the 1970s. Among his best-known films as a d ...

's film '' Blood and Wine'' starring

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, often playing rebels fighting against the social structure. Over his five-de ...

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

and

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...

. It was selected by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

film studio A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company that makes films. Today, studios are mostly financing and distribution entities. In addition, they may have their own studio facility or facilities; how ...

for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nomination. In 2016, to celebrate the 1050 anniversary of the

Baptism of Poland The Christianization of Poland ( ) refers to the introduction and subsequent spread of Christianity in Poland. The impetus to the process was the Baptism of Poland ( ), the personal baptism of Mieszko I, the first ruler of the future Polish st ...

as well as the opening of the

Temple of Divine Providence The Temple of Divine Providence () and Pantheon of Great Poles (in Polish, Panteon Wielkich Polaków, in southern Warsaw's Wilanów district, is a principal Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic church in Poland. The backstory of its construction ...

, an album entitled ''Przymierze'' containing Lorenc's music works was released. The same year, he received Poland's highest official distinction - the Order of the White Eagle. He is a member of the

European Film Academy The European Film Academy is a group of European film director, filmmakers who come together in Berlin on the occasion of the first presentation of the European Film Awards in November 1988. Every year, the European Film Academy honors films an ...

, the

Polish Film Academy The Polish Film Academy (Polish: ''Polska Akademia Filmowa'') is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures. History The academy was founded in 2003 on the initiative of the I ...

and the Czech Film Academy.

Works

*''Psy 3. W imię zasad'' (2020) *''Masaryk'' (2017) *''

'' (2016) *''Smoleńsk'' (2016) *''Historia Roja, czyli w ziemi lepiej słychać'' (2016) *''Strażacy'' ("Firefighters") (2015) *''Komisarz Alex'' (2011-2012) *''W imieniu diabła'' ("In the Name of Devil") (2011) *''Jan Paweł II. Szukałem Was...'' (2011) *''Śluby panieńskie'' (2010) *''Syndrom'' (2010) *''Czarny czwartek'' ("Black Thursday") (2010) *'' Little Rose'' (2010) *'' Kołysanka'' (2010) *''La Prima notte della luna'' (2010) *''Wyłączność'' (2009) *''Mniejsze zło'' ("The Lesser Evil") (2009) *''Spokój w duszy'' (2009) *''Wino truskawkowe'' ("Strawberry Wine") (2008) *''Gry wojenne'' ("War Games") (TV series, 2008) *''

'' (2008-2016) *''

'' (2008) *''O rodzicach i dzieciach'' ("Of Parents and Children") (2008) *''Wszystko będzie dobrze'' ("Everything Will Be Alright") (2007) *''Statyści'' ("Extras") (2006) *''Fale'' ("The Waves") (2005) *''Solidarność, Solidarność...'' (2005) *''Oficer'' (TV series, 2005) *''Glina'' ("The Cop") (TV series, 2004-2008) *''Piekło, niebo'' ("The Hell, the Heaven")(2004) *''Są takie świeżuteńkie dziewczynki'' (2004) *''Symetria'' ("The Symmetry") (2003) *''Żurek'' (2003) *''Babie lato'' ("Indian Summer") (2002) *''Dziewczyna z plakatu'' ("The Poster Girl") (2001) *''Listy miłosne'' ("Love Letters") (2001) *''Tam, gdzie żyją Eskimosi'' ("Where the

Eskimo ''Eskimo'' () is a controversial Endonym and exonym, exonym that refers to two closely related Indigenous peoples: Inuit (including the Alaska Native Iñupiat, the Canadian Inuit, and the Greenlandic Inuit) and the Yupik peoples, Yupik (or Sibe ...

Live") (2001) *''

The Spring to Come ''Przedwiośnie'' (a title translated as ''First Spring'',Sekal Has to Die ''Sekal Has to Die'' (, ) is a 1998 Czech film directed by Vladimír Michálek. It was the Czech Republic's submission to the 71st Academy Awards for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee.Margaret Her ...

'' (1997) *''

'' (1997) *''Bride of War'' (1996) *''Przystań'' ("The Harbour") (1997) *'' Fotoamator'' (1996) *'' Blood and Wine'' (1996) *'' Exit in Red'' (1996) *''Poznań 56'' (1996) *''Deborah'' (1995) *''Pokuszenie'' ("Temptation") (1995) *''Prowokator'' (1995) *''Podróż na wschód'' ("Journey to the East") (1994) *''Psy II: Ostatnia krew'' (1994) *''Ptaszka'' (1994) *''Wyliczanka'' ("The Counting Rhyme") (1994) *''Embrion'' ("Embryo") (1993) *''Lazarus'' (1993) *''Lepiej być piękną i bogatą'' (1993) *''A Magzat'' (1993) *''Skutki noszenia kapelusza w maju'' (1993) *''Wow'' (1993) *''Łowca. Ostatnie starcie'' (1993) *''Pamiętnik znaleziony w garbie'' (1992) *''Psy'' (1992) *''Sauna'' (1992) *'' Ferdydurke'' (1991) *''Dziecko szczęścia'' (1991) *''Halo, jestem tutaj!'' (1991) *''Koniec gry'' ("Game Over") (1991) *''Kroll'' (1991) *''Kapitan Conrad'' (TV series, 1991) *''Historia niemoralna'' ("An Immoral Story") (1990) *''Kanalia'' (1990) *''Kapitan Konrad'' (1990) *''Pension sonnenschein'' (1990) *''Superwizja'' (1990) *''Zakład'' (1990) *'' 300 Miles to Heaven'' (1989) *''Bal na dworcu w Koluszkach'' (1989) *''Paziowie'' (TV series, 1989) *''Zakole'' (1988) *''Łuk Erosa'' ("Eros' Bow") (1987) *''A żyć trzeba dalej'' (1986) *''Kalejdoskop'' (1986) *''Magma'' (1986) *''Żuraw i czapla'' ("Crane and Heron") (1985) *''Latawiec'' ("A Kite") (1982) *''Przyjaciele'' ("Friends") (TV series, 1979)

Selected awards and honours

* Minister of Culture and National Heritage of Poland Award (2020) * Czech Lion Award for best music score to the film ''

'' (2017) * Order of the White Eagle (2016) * Fryderyk Award for best music score to the film ''Czarny czwartek. Janek Wiśniewski padł'' (2012) * Polish Film Award for best music score to the film ''Czarny czwartek. Janek wiśniewski padł'' (2011) *Golden Lions Award at the

for best music score to the film ''Wszystko będzie dobrze'' ("Everything Will Be Alright") (2007) *Golden Lions Award at the

for best music score to the film ''Przedwiośnie'' ("The Spring to Come") (2001) *Grand Prix at the

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

Film Music Festival for music composed to ''Nic'' ("Nothing") (1999) * Czech Lion Award for best soundtrack to the film ''

'' (1998) *Special Award at the Camerimage Film Festival for the soundtrack to the film ''Nic'' (1998) *Golden Lions Award at the

for best music score to the film ''

'' (1997) *Golden Lions Award at the

for best music score to the film ''Prowokator'' (1995) *Golden Lions Award at the

for best music score to the film ''Psy'' (1992) *Nomination to the

European Film Award for Best Composer The European Film Award for Best Composer is one of the awards presented by the European Film Academy. It was first presented as a Special Jury Award in 1998 received by Yuri Khanon for the music of ''Days of Eclipse''. A set of nominees was pres ...

for music to the film '' 300 Miles to Heaven'' (1989)

Quotes

"Film is the only inspiration and ultimate goal for me. I do not compose any other music. It turned out that my gift for composing is limited to the cinema. I don't know what kind of feelings I should evoke in audiences in concert halls." (Michał Lorenc) "You don't compose music for a film but for SOMEBODY. The same film, if made by a different man, would have a completely different music." (Michał Lorenc)

Trivia

*The song ''Elena's Dance'' ("Taniec Eleny") from the original

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

Maciej Dejczer Maciej Dejczer is a Polish film director, best known for his film ''300 Miles to Heaven'' (1989), which won the second European Film Award for European Discovery of the Year. He is an alumnus of the Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School in Katowice. ...

's 1997 film ''

'' composed by Lorenc was used by

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

artistic gymnast Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different types of apparatus. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which assigns the '' Code of Points'' used ...

Sandra Izbașa Sandra Raluca Izbașa (; born 18 June 1990) is a retired artistic gymnast from Romania. She is a double Olympic champion, having won the floor event at the 2008 Olympics and vault at the 2012 Olympics. She is also a winner of two Olympic bronz ...

in her

floor exercise In gymnastics, the floor is a specially prepared exercise surface, considered an apparatus. The floor exercise (English abbreviation FX) is the event performed on the floor, in both women's and men's artistic gymnastics (WAG and MAG). The same flo ...

routine at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

where she won gold medal. Slovakian figure skater Zuzana Babiaková also used the track for her

free skating The free skating segment of figure skating, also called the free skate and the long program, is the second of two segments of competitions, skated after the short program. Its duration, across all disciplines, is four minutes for senior skaters ...

program at the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...

. *''Elena's Dance'' is used by the

Widzew Łódź RTS Widzew Łódź () is a Polish football (soccer), football club based in Łódź. The club was founded in 1910. Its official colours are red and white, hence their nicknames ''Czerwona Armia'' (Red Army) and ''Czerwono-biało-czerwoni'' (Red-wh ...

football club In association football, a football club (or association football club, alternatively soccer club) is a sports club that acts as an entity through which association football teams organise their sporting activities. The club can exist either as ...

when its players enter the pitch during

home game In sports, home is the place and venue identified with a sports team. Most professional teams are named for, and marketed to, particular metropolitan areas; amateur teams may be drawn from a particular region, or from institutions such as sc ...

s at

Stadion Widzewa Stadion (Greek , Latin ''stadium'', nominative plural ''stadia'' in both Greek and Latin) may refer to: People * Christoph von Stadion (1478–1543), Prince-Bishop of Augsburg * Johann Philipp Stadion, Count von Warthausen (1763–1824), Austrian ...

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

. In 2017, during the opening ceremony of the newly-reconstructed stadium, Lorenc formally granted the

rights Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of freedom or Entitlement (fair division), entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal sy ...

to perform the song to the club's owners. *The magazine ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' compared Michal Lorenc's music to the works of a prominent American composer -

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, critic, writer, teacher, pianist, and conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as the "Dean of American Compos ...

. *In 2010, Lorenc became one of members of the committee supporting

Jarosław Kaczyński Jarosław Aleksander Kaczyński (born 18 June 1949) is a Polish politician. He co-founded the Law and Justice (PiS) party in 2001 with his twin brother, Lech Kaczyński, and has served as its leader since 2003. He served as Prime Minister of Pola ...

in the 2010 Polish Presidential Elections.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lorenc, Michal 1955 births Living people Polish composers Polish film score composers Polish male film score composers Musicians from Warsaw Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Czech Lion Awards winners