Preisner Zbigniew, *20 May 1955 Bielsko-Biała, Polish composer. A musical autodidact. He studied history at the Jagiellonian University. From 1978, he collaborated with the Piwnica pod Baranami cabaret in Kraków. He made his debut as a film composer in 1982 with music for the film Prognoza pogody (directed by Z. Krauze). In 1985, he began permanent cooperation with K. Kieślowski, which lasted until the director’s death (1996). The successes of Kieślowski’s films launched Preisner’s career, both in Europe and the United States; in the 1990s he was the most frequently employed Polish film music composer. He cooperated with, among others, such directors as L. Malle, H. Babenco, L. Mandoki, A. Holland, W. Marczewski; he is the author of music for over 80 feature films, documentaries and short films. He received many prestigious awards, including Los Angeles Critics Award (title of composer of the year 1991, 1992, 1993), the French César Award (1995, 1996), a “golden record” in Paris for recording music for the film The Double Life of Weronica (also Oscar nomination in 1991). Important albums: La double vie de Veronique (1991), Preisner’s Music (1995), Dekalog (1996), Requiem for My Friend (1998).
Preisner also cooperated with jazz musicians – L. Możdżer (album 10 łatwych utworów na fortepian, 1999) and D. Wania (album Melodies Of My Youth, 2019).
In his work, Preisner, on the one hand, continues the musical traditions of the lyric poetry of the Piwnica pod Baranami cabaret, and on the other hand, he refers – but in a very superficial way – to the styles of romanticism and post-romanticism. In film music, the emphasis is mainly on the melodic, colour and expressive layers; Preisner’s conservative, simple music gains a new dimension in the context of a film work, where – as in Kieślowski’s films – it emphasises the metaphysical atmosphere and humanistic message.
