Wojciech Kilar (b. July 17, 1932 in Lwów, Polandnow L'viv, Ukraine) is a Polish classical and film music composer. Life Kilar studied in Katowice and later on in Paris with Nadia Boulanger. He has won several prizes for his works and belongs (together with Krzysztof Penderecki and Henryk Górecki) to the Polish avant-garde movement of the Sixties. His orchestral work Krzesany (Climbing up the mountains) from 1974 became famous, but since the mid 1970s he has become well known as a composer of film scores, increasingly in Hollywood (working with Roman Polanski). He is still publishing symphonic music, chamber works and works for solo instruments. January 2001 saw the world premiere of his Missa pro pace (composed for a full symphony orchestra, mixed choir and a quartet of soloists) at the National Philharmonic in Warsaw. In December of that year it was performed again at the Vatican in the presence of Pope John Paul II. Cze