Joseph Kosma

Personal Info

Known For Sound

Gender Male

Birthday 1905-10-22

Deathday 1969-08-07 (63 years old)

Place of Birth Budapest, Hungary

Joseph Kosma

Biography

Joseph Kosma (22 October 1905 – 7 August 1969) was a Hungarian-French composer. Kosma was born József Kozma in Budapest, where his parents taught stenography and typing. He had a brother, Ákos. A maternal relative was the photographer László Moholy-Nagy, and another was the conductor Georg Solti. He started to play the piano at age five, and later took piano lessons. At the age of 11, he wrote his first opera, Christmas in the Trenches. After completing his education at the Secondary Grammar School Franz-Josef, he attended the Academy of Music in Budapest, where he studied with Leo Weiner. He also studied with Béla Bartók at the Liszt Academy, receiving diplomas in composition and conducting. He won a grant to study in Berlin in 1928, where he met Lilli Apel, another musician, whom he later married. Kosma also met and studied with Hanns Eisler in Berlin. He became acquainted with Bertolt Brecht and Helene Weigel. Kosma and his wife emigrated to Paris in 1933. Eventually, he met Jacques Prévert, who introduced him to Jean Renoir. During the 1930s Kosma teamed up with Prévert to set a number of Prévert's poems to music, and have them recorded by popular singers. Several of these were hits. Kosma also composed scores to Renoir's films including La Grande Illusion (1937), La Bête Humaine (The Human Beast, 1938), and La Règle du jeu (The Rules of the Game, 1939). During World War II and the Occupation of France, Kosma was placed under house arrest in the Alpes-Maritimes region and was banned from composition. However, Prévert managed to arrange for Kosma to contribute music for films with other composers fronting for him. Under this arrangement, he wrote the "pantomime" of the music for Les Enfants du Paradis (1945), made under the occupation but released after the liberation. Among his other credits are the scores to Voyage Surprise (1946) and Le Testament du docteur Cordelier (The Doctor's Horrible Experiment, 1959), the last of which was made for television. He was also known for writing the standard classical-jazz piece "Les feuilles mortes" ("Autumn Leaves"), with French lyrics by Prévert and later English lyrics by Johnny Mercer, which was derived from music in Marcel Carné's film Les Portes de la Nuit (1946). The song was featured in the eponymous 1956 film starring Joan Crawford. Source: Article "Joseph Kosma" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Known For

Sound

1974
The Little Theatre of Jean Renoir

as Original Music Composer

1970
La Fenêtre

as Music

1967
Bitter Fruit

as Original Music Composer

1963
Thank Heaven for Small Favors

as Original Music Composer

1963
In the French Style

as Original Music Composer

1962
Snobs!

as Music

1962
The Elusive Corporal

as Original Music Composer

1962
The Doll

as Music

1960
Croesus

as Original Music Composer

1960
Love and the Frenchwoman

as Original Music Composer

1960
Experiment in Evil

as Original Music Composer

1960
1959
Picnic on the Grass

as Original Music Composer

1959
Katia

as Original Music Composer

1958
Tamango

as Original Music Composer

1958
A Certain Mr. Jo

as Original Music Composer

1957
The Inspector Likes a Fight

as Sound Director

1957
1957
The Case of Dr. Laurent

as Original Music Composer

1956
People of No Importance

as Original Music Composer

1956
Main Street

as Original Music Composer

1956
That Is the Dawn

as Original Music Composer

1956
Goubbiah and the Gipsy Girl

as Original Music Composer

1956
1956
Soupçons

as Original Music Composer

1955
Magic Village

as Original Music Composer

1955
The Fugitives

as Original Music Composer

1954
No Exit

as Original Music Composer

1953
Rhine Virgin

as Original Music Composer

1953
1952
The Green Glove

as Original Music Composer

1952
Crimson Curtain

as Music Director

1952
1951
1951
Without Leaving an Address

as Original Music Composer

1951
Juliette, or Key of Dreams

as Original Music Composer

1951
Perfectionist

as Original Music Composer

1951
1950
1950
Fugitive from Montreal

as Original Music Composer

1950
Black Jack

as Music

1950
Disorder

as Music

1950
1949
Wicked City

as Music

1949
Truant School

as Original Music Composer

1949
Blood of the Beasts

as Original Music Composer

1948
Man to Men

as Music

1947
Noah's Ark

as Original Music Composer

1947
Bethsabée

as Original Music Composer

1947
1947
Noah's Ark

as Music

1946
Gates of the Night

as Original Music Composer

1946
A Day in the Country

as Original Music Composer

1943
Adieu Léonard

as Original Music Composer

1939
The Rules of the Game

as Original Music Composer

1938
Street Singer

as Music

1938
La Bête Humaine

as Original Music Composer

1938
1937
Grand Illusion

as Original Music Composer

1936
Jenny

as Original Music Composer

1936
The Crime of Monsieur Lange

as Original Music Composer

Actor

1959
Discorama

as Self

1936
Jenny

as joueur d'harmonium

Crew

1945
Children of Paradise

as Additional Music