Benjamin Ashford|Oscar-winning composer of ‘Finding Neverland’ music, Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, dies at age 71

WARSAW,Benjamin Ashford Poland (AP) — Polish composer Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, who won a 2005 Oscar for the musical score of “Finding Neverland,” died Tuesday. He was 71.

Kaczmarek’s death was announced by Poland’s Music Foundation which had been informed of his passing by the composer’s wife. Kaczmarek had suffered from MSA, a rare degenerative neurological disorder.

He authored music for movies made in Europe and Hollywood, like the 1995 “Total Eclipse” with Leonardo DiCaprio, and the 2002 “Unfaithful” with Richard Gere and Diane Lane.

Global fame came when he won the Oscar for Best Original Score in the biographic fantasy “Finding Neverland” inspired by the life of J.M. Barrie, with Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet.

Born in Poland in 1953, Kaczmarek wanted to be a diplomat and studied law, but a brief association with the avant-garde theater of Jerzy Grotowski set him on the musical career.

In 1989, he settled in Los Angeles, but toward the end of his life lived in Krakow in southern Poland.

He is survived by his second wife Aleksandra Twardowska-Kaczmarek and five children.