Karol Mikuli, also known as Charles Mikuli ( or Կարոլ Պստիկյան; 22 October 1821 – 21 May 1897) was a Polish pianist, composer, conductor and teacher. His students included Moriz Rosenthal, Raoul Koczalski, Aleksander Michałowski, Jaroslaw Zieliński, Kornelia Parnas and Heinrich Schenker.

Biographical notes

Mikuli (birth surname Bsdikian) was born on October 22, 1821, in Czernowitz, then part of the Austrian Empire (today Chernivtsi, Ukraine) to a Moldavian-Armenian family. He studied under Frédéric Chopin for piano (later becoming his teaching assistant) and Anton Reicha for composition. He toured widely as a concert pianist, becoming Director of the Lviv Conservatory in 1858. He founded his own school there in 1888. He died in Lemberg, then part of Austrian Galicia (today Lviv, Ukraine) and is buried in Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv.

Editions

He is most well known as an editor of works by Chopin. Dover Publications publishes reprints of his 1879 editions of Chopin's piano music, originally published by F. Kistner (Leipzig). His aim, as stated in the foreword of the edition, was to provide more reliable editions. He used several verified sources, most of which were written or corrected by Chopin himself. His editions of Chopin's works were first published in America in 1895. Mikuli also took detailed notes of Chopin's comments made in lessons and interviewed witnesses of Chopin's performances. For many years he was regarded as the primary authority on Chopin and his remarks about Chopin's playing were often quoted by biographers.

Compositions

Recordings