Karol Mikuli (22 October 1821, Chernivtsi - 21 May 1897, Lviv) was a composer, concert pianist, conductor, teacher, music folklorist, and music and public figure. By nationality, he was an Armenian from the Aksanyan family.
Biography
He was born on 22 October 1821 in Chernivtsi to a merchant family.
From 1844, he devoted himself to music and studied piano with Frédéric Chopin; harmony and counterpoint with François Henri Reber in Paris. He inherited the methodological principles of his brilliant teacher and tried to transform them in his own practice. Mikula's editorial notes to the complete edition of Chopin's works, published by F. Kistner in Leipzig, are the most valuable and have not lost their relevance for Chopin studies today.
The Lviv period
In 1848 Mikuli settled in Lviv. He was invited by the city authorities and the leadership of the Galician Music Society after lengthy negotiations with many other prominent Polish musicians. In the same year, Mikuli took on the functions of director of the Galician Music Society and professor at the GMS Conservatory, where he taught piano, harmony, counterpoint, and analysis of musical forms. He also distinguished himself as a conductor of symphony and chamber concerts, organiser of musical evenings, member of chamber ensembles and concertmaster. He repeatedly continued to give concerts in Lviv as a solo pianist.
His private school of music and singing, which he founded in 1887 after resigning from all positions in the Galician Music Society, was also very successful. Mikula's students included such prominent pianists, composers, and well-known pedagogues and organisers of musical life as Maurycii Rosenthal, Denys Sichynskyi, Zofia Kozlovska, Ludwig Marek, Michysław Soltys, Stanisław Niemiadomski, Jarosław Zieliński, Franciszek Neuhauser, Julian Zakrzewski, and many others.
Here is what the Warsaw critic Piotr Rytel, in particular, says about the manner of one of Mikulja's most famous students, Mauricius Rosenthal: "...The name of Maurice Rosenthal is associated with the notion of the highest technical perfection, capable of overcoming not only all obstacles, but also of absolute technique, which does not know and does not understand the concept of "difficulty" or "complexity" at all. For Rosenthal, it does not matter whether his fingers have to play the simplest passage or the most complex sound combinations... He does not have problems with fast or slow tempos, as the pianist naturally overcomes all kinds of technical difficulties at any tempo. This ease is striking and seems absolutely phenomenal... Rosenthal not only has absolute technique... He is a pianist who is in love with his instrument, does not beat it, does not abuse it, as piano tormentors do. For this, the piano always responds to him with a wonderful sound and even with the greatest fortissimo, it sings joyfully..."
Similar reviews were left about the style of other outstanding pianists - Mikuli's students. Mikuli - based on his long practice as a teacher of theory at the GMT Conservatory - also wrote two theoretical works in German, which remain in manuscript: "The Canon" (Der Kanon) and "Counterpoint" (Das Kontrapunkt).
The Galician Music Society under the leadership of Karol Mikula
In 1860, the Society resumed its old name, the Galician Musical Society, and under the leadership of Karol Mikula, it became a solid, well-known musical centre in Galicia, which for about thirty years held the first place among amateur musical societies in Lviv. The society organised ten musical evenings annually, mainly devoted to chamber music and soloists, as well as four to seven concerts with soloists, choir, and orchestra. Presenting a good amateur symphony orchestra, composed mainly of professors and students of the Conservatory, amateurs, members of a theatre orchestra, as well as good amateur choirs - male, female and mixed - Mikuli was able to perform many difficult oratorio and symphonic works that would satisfy the ambitions of any professional orchestra in the capital.
Under Mikuli's leadership, the activities of the GMT Conservatory, which, although it was named after him, did not meet the European standards of conservatory education of the time and for a long time did not have an official status, became especially important. The researchers point out in what ways Mikuli updated and improved the principles of the main musical educational institution of Galicia in the second half of the nineteenth century:
...founded in 1854, the GMT Conservatoire was officially granted this status in 1884. During his tenure, a trend of ... constant growth in the number of students was established...
...it was possible to establish a new speciality at the Conservatoire - piano playing...
The conservatory's curricula were widespread and generally covered the following specialities: piano, organ, violin, viola, cello, double bass, flute, clarinet, French horn, solo singing, choral singing, composition, accompaniment, musical forms, music theory, harmony, and a teacher's course...
The course of study in the various disciplines ... was divided into degrees: elementary, intermediate and higher in ... piano, lower and higher in all other cases except harmony, which occupied the preparatory and higher departments
Annual and mid-year so-called "examinations" of conservatory students were introduced
The staff of the conservatory teachers was constantly replenished with good specialists
The Galician Musical Society remained the main centre for the education of musical taste and the facilitation of a thorough science in art for a long time.
Style
His style was formed exclusively in the romantic vein, and primarily under the influence of Chopin, and loyalty to the traditions of his beloved teacher somewhat limited his artistic outlook and caused a certain secondary nature of his own creative searches, although Mikula's music is not devoid of effectiveness, compositional skill, and a peculiar charm, especially in those opuses based on folk melody. The techniques that constitute the deepest expression of Chopin's individuality and uniqueness in his work are the plastic melodic phrase of wide breathing, the synthesis of Italian vocal style with nationally characteristic phrases of Polish folklore, specific formulas of accompaniment, etc. - in Mikula's compositions are perceived as a kind of crystallised stereotype of expression, not devoid of salon, although he constantly strives to overcome typically romantic genre stereotypes, tends to poetry, and to the throughness of the unfolding. The harmony and texture of his opuses, although mostly remaining at the level of artistic thinking of the first half of the XIX century, often impress with quite bold colouristic effects, expressive phrases that testify to the mastery of the expressive palette. It is also worth considering the historical context of his works - the sixties and eighties of the last century (the peak of the composer's creative activity in Lviv) inspired an active search for new systems of expression in music, a gradual overcoming of romantic traditions, expansion of the possibilities of harmony, polyphony, etc. This new breath of the times is sometimes noticeable in Mikula's compositions, especially in solo singing and choirs or in larger-scale piano compositions, but quite often they demonstrate a level of thinking that is more acceptable to wide amateur circles. Most of the works (at least the piano ones) were probably written with his students in mind, enriching the pedagogical repertoire, and thus taking into account the needs and tastes of the audience for which they were intended.
Although Chopin's influence was undoubtedly important for Mikula, it was organically combined with other influences, primarily determined by the tastes and needs of the audience.
Creativity
Mikula's creative heritage is relatively modest in terms of quantity. Piano, violin and vocal works predominate. Quite often the composer continues the line of "Chopin's miniature", in particular mazurkas, preludes, waltzes, polonaises, nocturnes, etc. Religious opuses, choral works "for occasions", arrangements of folk songs (Romanian, Polish, French and other peoples) for various performing groups - for soloists accompanied by piano or chamber ensemble, for choir, for piano - also take up a significant part of his work. He also turned to theatrical genres, and composed music for the drama by the famous Lviv writer Józef Kożeniewski "The Monk, or Mass for the Dedication of the Cathedral in Chernivtsi".
Piano works
Mikula also pays great attention to the genre of etude, just like his teacher, giving it artistic completeness and expressiveness. Quite often one can observe parallels to Chopin's images, the very interpretation of the genre is inspired by Chopin, but sometimes the author demonstrates ingenuity and a desire for a special, even extravagant effect - a tendency to a certain unusualness, external, ostentatious originality is inherent in the composer throughout his career.
Instead, in his collection of six waltzes Op. 18 dedicated to Olga Janina, Mikuli does not so much follow Chopin's tradition as recreate the tradition of early Viennese romantic Walzenkette, a chain of contrasting dance episodes in the rhythm of the ländler. Here one can find expressive analogies to Polish folk dances. This shows that Mikuli, like his teacher, interpreted the very concept of genre rather conditionally, allowed for its subjective reinterpretation, and even sought to diversify it and overcome the genre stereotype.
Mikula also composed a lot of mazurkas. He interprets the very genre basis of Polish folk dance as freely as he does in waltzes - the characteristic mazurka formula is only the basis, the canvas, which he braids with brilliant virtuosic texture, exquisite harmonies, and compares with contrasting (including genre, rhythmic pulsation, etc.) episodes. In general, in miniatures, we often note more modest expressive means - the didactic nature of the works determines the composer's self-restraint in choosing effects.
Vocal and choral works
In addition to piano music, vocal and choral music has always been an important area for Mikula. A large number of vocal and choral opuses were written in Lviv. Most of the composer's songs are based on German texts (which seems rather strange, given his Polish sympathies and orientation towards national folklore, so clearly visible in his piano works, and given his struggle to switch teaching at the GMT Conservatory to the Polish language). The composer draws on a wide variety of poetic sources - from the classical poetry of Johann Wolfgang Goethe to well-known authors such as Heine, the typical romantic Hoffmann von Fallersleben, and other or even lesser-known authors.
In all the songs, the composer's bold and uninhibited writing is striking, much more modern, harmonically and texturally rich, original than in his piano opuses. The romantic vocal style of R. Schumann and J. Brahms serves as a reference point, noticeable primarily in the search for an unconventional, reprise-free (mostly through-monologue or close to the theatre stage) form of songs.
Mikula's songs reveal his artistic thinking, which is not subject to a "social order" or didactic principles, like piano compositions. It is these works that first of all testify to the significant potential of the composer's talent, who devoted himself more to public education, performing and pedagogical activities than to composing.
He was buried in Lviv at the Lychakiv Cemetery, field No. 77. An epitaph with a sculptural portrait of the artist (sculptor Tsyprian Hodebskyi) is installed on the wall of the Lviv Armenian Cathedral.
Philanthropic activity
The first library of Bukovyna (now the Scientific Library of Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University) was created at the expense of patrons, including Karl von Mikuli, who donated all the proceeds (1030 florins) from his winter concerts in 1850-1851 to the library construction fund.
The composer also proved himself to be a patron of the arts when he founded the Foundation for Scholarships for Poor Gymnasium Students. Karol immediately donated thousands of florins to the Foundation, and then also transferred funds from his concerts.
In 1889, Karol Mikuli was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Franz Josef for his significant contribution to the development of musical culture. When presenting the honorary award, the emperor called Karol "the greatest musician of the time".
Memory
During the Austrian period of Chernivtsi, the city's central park was named after Mikulja, and a street was named after him. Today, one of the city's main streets is named after Karol Mikuli (until 2015, it was Karl Liebknecht Street).
