Biography

Joseph Kosma was a Hungarian-born French composer, best known for his songs and film scores. Born in Budapest on October 22, 1905, he studied at the Budapest Academy of Music and held conducting positions with various orchestras, opera companies, and dance companies before permanently relocating to Paris in 1933. There, collaborating with the poet Jacques Prévert and other contemporary writers, Kosma wrote a large body of excellent songs that appealed to both intellectuals and popular audiences at the same time. "Inventaire," which won him the Grand prix du disque award for best song in 1956, is perhaps his most highly regarded song, but the best known is undoubtedly "Les feuilles mortes" ("Autumn Leaves"), which has achieved lasting popularity both in its original language, and in English translations in the United States. Kosma's work in the film industry encompassed the scores to over one hundred pictures, including Les enfants du paradis and Les portes de la nuit; the directors Marcel Carné, Pierre Prévost, and Jean Renoir were all frequent collaborators. He also composed operas, oratorios, chamber works, and numerous works for symphony, as well as concertos for both the clarinet and violin. Kosma died in Paris, August 7, 1969.