Janusz Olejniczak, who played the piano parts in the Oscar-winning film ‘The Pianist’, dies at the age of 72

WARSAW – Polish musician and teacher Janusz Olejniczak, who played the piano parts in the 2002 Oscar-winning film “The Pianist,” has died at the age of 72, his family said Monday.

According to the family’s statement to the media, Olejniczak died of a heart attack on Sunday.

The statement said that his “extraordinary musical sensitivity, especially in interpretations of music by Frederic Chopin, brought him international fame and recognition.”

Aleksander Laskowski, a spokesman for the national Frederic Chopin Institute, said staff were “deeply saddened” by Olejniczak’s death.

Laskowski described him as “one of the leading contemporary interpreters of Chopin’s music,” including on period instruments, and an excellent teacher.

Composer and conductor Jerzy Maksymiuk, who was a personal friend, said Olejniczak’s “sensitive soul and extraordinary talent were reflected in his interpretations” in which he created a “unique aura”.

Maksymiuk said he had lunch with Olejniczak on Sunday and they discussed his “big plans”, which he was determined to pursue despite his health problems.

Olejniczak’s international career began in 1970 when, at just 18 years old, he was laureate of the 8th International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. Commentators said he bore a physical resemblance to the Romantic-era composer, a trait that even led Olejniczak to play the role of Chopin in director Andrzej Zulawski’s 1991 film “The Blue Note.”

In 2002, Olejniczak recorded the piano parts for Roman Polanski’s ‘The Pianist’. His hands can be seen playing the piano in the film, for which Polanski won the Oscar for Best Director and Adrien Brody for Best Actor.

Olejniczak also played contemporary music, including by the late acclaimed Polish composer Wojciech Kilar.

Born on October 2, 1952 in Wroclaw, Olejniczak began his piano training at the age of 6. He studied in Warsaw, Paris and Essen. For many years he was a jury member of the Chopin piano competitions and since 2018 of the two editions of the Chopin Competition on Historical Instruments.