Krzesimir Marcin Dębski (; born 26 October 1953 in

Wałbrzych Wałbrzych (; ; or ''Walmbrich''; or ) is a city located in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in southwestern Poland, seat of Wałbrzych County. Wałbrzych lies approximately southwest of the voivodeship capital Wrocław and about from the Czec ...

) is a Polish

composer 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 def ...

, conductor and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

violinist. His music career as a musician has been that of a performer as well as composer of classical music, opera, television and feature films. In 2024, he became the recipient of the Gloria Artis Gold Medal for Merit to Culture.

Professional career

Dębski was born in 1953 in

and began attending a music school in

Kielce Kielce (; ) is a city in south-central Poland and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the banks of the Silnic ...

at the age of six. He subsequently studied composition with Andrzej Koszewski, and conducting with Witold Krzemieński, at the Paderewski Academy of Music in

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

, Poland. Following graduation, Dębski became interested in jazz. Since 1982, as the leader and violinist of the jazz group ''String Connection'', he has performed in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and over 25 countries in Europe. In 1986 Dębski has cut down on his concert performances and concentrated primarily on composition. He has composed more than 60 symphonic and

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

pieces, including an opera, 2 symphonies, religious works and 9 instrumental concertos. Since 1986, he has composed the music for over 70 films, received 8 platinum albums and has composed music for the highest-grossing movie in Polish film history, '' With Fire and Sword''. As deputy chairman of the Polish Association of Contemporary Music, Dębski has written music for film, theater, symphony, chamber orchestra and experimental ensembles. As a composer, he won the Fryderyk Award (the Polish equivalent for the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

). He was also awarded the International Film Music Academy, coveted "Philip" prize presented to him by the legendary film composer,

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone ( , ; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, Orchestration, orchestrator, conductor, trumpeter, and pianist who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 film score, scores for cinema and televisi ...

. Krzesimir Dębski has conducted concerts in which the following international stars performed:

José Carreras Josep Maria Carreras Coll (; born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras (, ), is a Catalan operatic tenor from Spain who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini. Born in Barcelona, ...

Nigel Kennedy Nigel Kennedy (born 28 December 1956) is an English violinist and viola, violist. His early career was primarily spent performing classical music, and has since expanded into jazz music, jazz, klezmer, and other music genres. Early life and ...

, Adam Makowicz, The Canadian Brass, Vadim Repin, Mark O’Connor,

Jean-Luc Ponty Jean-Luc Ponty (born 29 September 1942) is a French jazz and jazz fusion violinist and composer. He is considered a pioneer of jazz-rock, particularly for his use of the electric violin starting in the 1970s. He rose to prominence for his colla ...

, John Blake, Ewa Malas-Godlewska and José Cura.

Awards

Krzesimir Dębski has been awarded numerous prizes for his jazz musicianship and composition work. The prizes include a.o.: First Prize at the World Competition of Jazz Ensembles (Belgium), and the Stanislaw Wyspiański Award from The Ministry of Culture (Warsaw, Poland). Readers of the monthly jazz magazine "Jazz Forum" have bestowed upon Dębski the honor of "Musician, Composer and Violinist Of The Year" from 1983 to 1986. In 1985, ''

DownBeat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'' magazine rated Krzesimir Dębski among the top ten violinists in the world. In 1986, Dębski received First Prize at the 25th Anniversary Spring Festival of Music, a composers' competition in Poland. In 1988, the

Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a Canadian non-profit organization created in 1979 to recognize the achievements of the over 4,000 Canadian cinema of Canada, film industry and television in Canada, television industry professionals ...

nominated Dębski for a

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor ...

. The same year, he received a special award for his musical work with children from the

Prime Minister of Poland A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only wa ...

. In 2000, he was awarded the Fryderyk Award in the Composer of the Year category. In 2017, he was awarded the Pro Patria Medal. In 2020, he was granted the title of professor. In 2024, he received the Gloria Artis Gold Medal for Merit to Culture.

Personal life

Dębski's parents, Włodzimierz and Aniela, survived the Kisielin massacre of 1943 perpetrated by the

Ukrainian Insurgent Army The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (, abbreviated UPA) was a Ukrainian nationalist partisan formation founded by the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) on 14 October 1942. The UPA launched guerrilla warfare against Nazi Germany, the S ...

(UPA) on the Polish civilian population of

Volhynia Volhynia or Volynia ( ; see #Names and etymology, below) is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, but in ...

and

Eastern Galicia Eastern Galicia (; ; ) is a geographical region in Western Ukraine (present day oblasts of Lviv Oblast, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil Oblast, Ternopil), having also essential historic importance in Poland. Galicia ( ...

. His grandparents, Leopold and Anisia, who returned to the village after this event, were kidnapped by members of UPA and murdered. He is married to singer Anna Jurksztowicz with whom he has a son Radzimir, who is also a composer.

Krzesimir Dębski in the press

As a film composer he is much sought after, and for most music lovers his name is associated with that area of activity. He has recently written music for screen versions of many masterpieces of

Polish literature Polish literature is the literary tradition of Poland. Most Polish literature has been written in the Polish language, though other languages used in Poland over the centuries have also contributed to Polish literary traditions, including Latin, ...

; he also composes for

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

. All the same, he has not abandoned

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

, the writing of which he still regards as his most important creative task. "I have worked in nearly all the fields of the music world," he said in an interview for the "Studio" monthly in 1999; "rock men greet me as a rock musician, jazzmen - as a jazzman, still others - as a film composer. But I am personally convinced that classical music is my proper domain. I dedicate about 80 per cent of my time, or more in some periods, to the composition of contemporary classical music. Unfortunately, the world of contemporary music is so small that at times I cannot help having the impression that I could easily suffocate in it. And, for that matter, I do not seem to be fully accepted in that world. ..‘Oh, that's him,’ they say, ‘he's already been everywhere, done everything, does he really have to impose himself on us now?’ But I don't complain - I have many performances. So far, I have refrained from releasing my music on record (though I could have done it at my own cost a long ago), but now I'd like to announce some releases with my compositions. The "Warsaw Autumn" has never presented my works, but I hope to be found worthy of this honour when I celebrate my 80th birthday... .. My pieces are performed every month, also frequently abroad. I feel happy that my works are played at usual philharmonic concerts, not only at festivals." ("Studio" 1999 no. 5) Krzesimir Dębski comments on Ukrainian nationalistic crimes in Volhynia, where his grandparents were murdered.

Selected compositions

Works for orchestra

* ''Musica per archi (1985)'' – for string orchestra * ''Passacaglia - improvisazioni (1990)'' – for symphony orchestra * ''Synchromie - Dance Fantasy (1990)'' – for symphony orchestra * ''Three Forms (1990)'' – for symphony orchestra * ''Moment Musical (1992)'' – for symphony orchestra * ''Toccata (1993)'' – for symphony orchestra * ''Sinfonietta (1993)'' – for symphony orchestra * ''Preludium - Interludium - Postludium (1995)'' – for string orchestra * ''Zyklus (1996)'' – for symphony orchestra * ''Tempi concertati (1996)'' – for string orchestra * ''Musica Dominicana (2001)'' – for wind orchestra * ''Autuminty (2007)'' – for symphony orchestra

Works for solo instruments with orchestra

* ''Fantasy (1978)'' – for organ and symphony orchestra * ''Impromptu (1990)'' – for violin, cello, piano and symphony orchestra * ''Solo, duo, trio e orchestra (1990)'' – for violin, cello, piano and symphony orchestra * ''Concerto for violin no. 1 (1990)'' – for violin and symphony orchestra * ''Concerto for piano hechnyan(1991)'' – for piano and symphony orchestra * ''Concerto for French horn (1995)'' – for French horn and symphony orchestra * ''Concerto per flauto dolce nr 1 (1997)'' – for flute and string orchestra * ''Concerto for clarinet (1998)'' – for clarinet and string orchestra * ''Concerto for flauto no. 2 (1998)'' – for flute and symphony orchestra * ''Concerto for violin no. 2 (1998)'' – for violin and symphony orchestra * ''Double concerto (1999)'' – for violin, viola and symphony orchestra * ''Notturno (2000)'' – for violin, viola and symphony orchestra * ''Landscape (2000)'' – for clarinet and symphony orchestra * ''Quasi una fantasia (2000)'' – for violin and string orchestra * ''Sounds from Serengeti (2002)'' – for strings, oboe and string orchestra * ''Concerto for cello (2004)'' – for cello and symphony orchestra * ''Solemn Concerto (2005)'' – for trompet, organ and string orchestra * ''Q + O (2005)'' – for quartett and symphony orchestra * ''Concerto for Three Clarinets (2012)'' – for three clarinets and symphony orchestra Archived a
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Vocal works

* ''Oratorium Pie Jesu Domine (1988)'' – for soprano, tenor, mixed choir and symphony orchestra * ''Missa puerorum (1988)'' – for boys choir, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, organ, percussion and string orchestra * ''Missa brevis (1998)'' – for boys choir, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and organ * ''Psalmodia Paratum cor meum Deus (1989)'' – for mixed choir a cappella * ''Laudate Dominum (1990)'' – for female choir, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and organ * ''Biografioły o the poetry of Stanisław Barańczak1993)'' – for 6 male voices * ''7 Songs o the poetry of Wisława Szymborska(1997)'' – for soprano, tenor, female choir and symphony orchestra * ''Misterium (2000)'' – for soprano, recitations, mixed choir and orchestra * ''I Symfonia Nihil homine mirabilius (2002)'' – for mezzo-soprano, mixed choir and symphony orchestra * ''II Symfonia Ver redit (2003)'' – for soprano, improviser, mixed choir and symphony orchestra * ''Forms (2006)'' – for voices, mixed choir and symphony orchestra * ''Psalm nr 1 o the poetry of Czesław Miłosz(2007)'' – for mixed choir and symphony orchestra * ''3 songs Lux Aeterna (2007)'' – for mixed choir a cappella * ''Cosmopolis (2008)'' – for mixed choir and symphony orchestra

Recordings (selection)

* 1984 - ''TRIO'' (with String Connection) * 1986 - ''String Connection Live in Warsaw'' * 1991 - ''Montreal Ballad'' (Debski and Vasvari Group) * 1995 - ''The Choir'' * 1995 - ''Total Eclipse'' * 1996 - ''Blow Up'' (with pianist Rolf Zielke) * 1998 - ''Witaj Gwiazdo Złota'' * 1999 - ''Ogniem i mieczem'' - Platinum in Poland for over 200.000 sold copies * 2000 - ''Fuego'' * 2000 - ''Era of Love'' * 2002 - ''The Flute Concerto'' and ''The Two Stradivarius Concerto'' * 2004 - ''Symphony Nihil Homine Mirabilius'' * 2019 - ''Grooveoberek'' (with band MAP)

Film scores (selection)

* 1987: '' The Young Magician'' - Director: Waldemar Dziki * 1988: '' Kingsajz'' - Director: Juliusz Machulski * 1991: ''V.I.P.'' - Director: Juliusz Machulski * 1993: ''Szwadron'' - Director: Juliusz Machulski * 1996: ''Matka swojej matki'' - Director: Robert Gliński * 1997: ''Autoportret z kochanką'' - Director: Radosław Piwowarski * 1998: ''Ciemna strona Wenus'' - Director: Radosław Piwowarski * 1999: '' With Fire and Sword'' - Director:

Jerzy Hoffman Jerzy Julian Hoffman (; born 15 March 1932) is a Polish director, screenwriter, and producer. He received the Polish Academy Life Achievement Award in February 2006. Hoffman is best known for his works in ''The Deluge (film), The Deluge'' (1974) ...

* 2001: '' In Desert and Wilderness'' - Director:

Gavin Hood Gavin Hood (born 12 May 1963) is a South African filmmaker, and actor, best known for writing and directing '' Tsotsi'' (2005), which won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. He also directed the films '' X-Men Origins: Wolver ...

* 2002: ''Tam i z powrotem'' - Director: Wojciech Wójcik * 2003: '' An Ancient Tale: When the Sun Was a God'' - Director:

* 2009: '' Było sobie miasteczko...'' (There once was a town...) directed by Tadeusz Arciuch and Maciej Wojciechowski * 2011: '' Battle of Warsaw 1920'' - Director:

* 2012: ''Polish Roulette'' - Director: Olaf Lubaszenko

References

External links

Krzesimir Dębski in Polish National Opera

Krzesimir Dębski
at culture.pl {{DEFAULTSORT:Debski, Krzesimir 1953 births Living people Polish film score composers Polish male film score composers Polish composers Polish violinists Polish jazz musicians Polish male conductors (music) People from Wałbrzych Recipients of the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis