Zbigniew Preisner (born May 20, 1955 in Bielsko-Biała) is one of Poland's leading film score composers, best known for his work with film director Krzysztof Kieślowski. Preisner studied history and philosophy in Kraków. Never having received formal music lessons, he taught himself about music by listening and transcribing parts from records. His compositional style represents a distinctively spare form of tonal neo-Romanticism. Paganini and Jean Sibelius are acknowledged influences.
