Aleksandra Mikulska (born November 17, 1981, in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

) is a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

classical pianist. She is the current president of the Chopin Society in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Biography

Mikulska was born in

. She began piano education at the age of six. She attended a class for young talent at the Karol Szymanowski Complex of State Music Schools in Warsaw. Mikulska went on to study with Peter Eicher at the

Hochschule für Musik A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

. She subsequently continued her studies at the Accademia Pianistica Internazionale “Incontri col Maestro” di Imola in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, where she was influenced by

Lazar Berman Lazar Naumovich Berman (russian: Ла́зарь Нау́мович Бе́рман, ''Lazarʹ Naumovič Berman''; February 26, 1930February 6, 2005) was a Soviet Russian classical pianist, Honoured Artist of the RSFSR (1988). He was hailed for a h ...

, Boris Petrushansky and

Michel Dalberto Michel Dalberto (born 2 June 1955) is a French concert pianist. Biography Dalberto was born in Paris into a non-musical family. He began studying the piano at the age of three and a half. When he was twelve, he was introduced to Vlado Perlemuter ...

. After completing the studies, Mikulska enrolled in Arie Vardi’s postgraduate solo performance class at the

Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media (german: Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover, italics=unset, abbreviated to HMTMH) is a university of performing arts and media in Hanover, the capital of Lower Saxony, Germany. Dating ...

, where she received her Performer's Diploma in 2010. She attended numerous master classes taught by well-known piano teachers including

Lev Natochenny Lev Natochenny (Russian: Лев Наточенный) (born January 26, 1950) is a Russian-American classical pianist and professor of piano. Born in Moscow, Natochenny graduated from the Moscow "Tchaikovsky" Conservatoire, where he was taught by ...

Andrzej Jasiński Andrzej Jasiński (born 23 October 1936 in Częstochowa) is a Polish pianist. In 1959 he graduated with honors from the University of Music in Katowice in the piano class of Władysława Markiewiczówna. The following year he won the Maria Cana ...

Kevin Kenner Kevin Kenner (born May 19, 1963 in Coronado, California) is an American concert pianist. Biography At the age of 17, Kenner was a finalist at the X International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. Ten years later, in 1990 he returned to Warsaw ...

and Diane Andersen, among others. She was awarded several times a ''Polish prime ministerial bursary'' and a scholarship by the Alfred Toepfer Stiftung F.V.S. Her debut recording was released in 2010 and is dedicated to works by

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

. Mikulska has performed with renowned orchestras under the batons of

Michael Sanderling Michael Sanderling (born 21 February 1967) is a German conductor and violoncellist. Biography Born in East Berlin, Michael Sanderling is the son of the contrabassist Barbara Wagner and the conductor Kurt Sanderling. He received his first cel ...

Pawel Przytocki Pavel (Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian and Macedonian: Павел, Czech, Slovene, Romanian: Pavel, Polish: Paweł, Ukrainian: Павло, Pavlo) is a male given name. It is a Slavic cognate of the name Paul (derived from the Greek Pavlos). Pavel m ...

Kaspar Zehnder Kaspar Zehnder (born 27 August 1970 in Riggisberg, Canton of Bern) is a Swiss conductor and flutist. He studied classical languages at the Lyceum in Bern and music at the University of the Arts Bern. His music teachers included Heidi Indermühle ...

Johannes Schlaefli Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as "John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, ''Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name '' Yeh ...

Stefan Fraas Stefan may refer to: * Stefan (given name) * Stefan (surname) * Ștefan, a Romanian given name and a surname * Štefan, a Slavic given name and surname * Stefan (footballer) (born 1988), Brazilian footballer * Stefan Heym, pseudonym of German writ ...

and

Philippe Bach Philippe Bach (born 1974) is a Swiss conductor and current music director of Meiningen's Hofkapelle and Theatre. Biography Bach was born in Saanen, Switzerland, and studied Horn in Bern and Genève and conducting in Zürich. Philippe Bach was a ...

at the

Musikverein The ( or ; ), commonly shortened to , is a concert hall in Vienna, Austria, which is located in the Innere Stadt district. The building opened in 1870 and is the home of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra. The acoustics of the building's 'Great ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, the

Brucknerhaus The Brucknerhaus () is a festival and congress centre in Linz, Austria named after the Austrian composer Anton Bruckner. The building was designed by Finnish architects Heikki and Kaija Siren. Its construction took place from 1969 to 1973. It op ...

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...

, the

Tonhalle Zürich Tonhalle is a German word meaning "tone hall", a concert hall. It may refer to: *Tonhalle Düsseldorf *Tonhalle Orchester Zürich *Tonhalle, Zürich The Tonhalle is a concert hall in Zurich, home to the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, one of Switzer ...

, the

Saalbau Essen Saalbau Essen is a concert venue in Essen, Germany, the home of the Essen Philharmonic. The original building was completed in 1902, and destroyed during World War II on 26 July 1943. It was rebuilt between 1949 and 1954 and completely renov ...

, the Nikolaisaal in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

, the

Kurhaus Wiesbaden The Kurhaus ("cure house", ) is the spa house in Wiesbaden, the capital of Hesse, Germany. It serves as the city's convention centre, and the social center of the spa town. In addition to a large and a smaller hall, it houses a restaurant and the ...

, the Künstlerhaus in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

and the National Philharmonic in Warsaw. Mikulska was awarded with many prizes at international piano competitions, among others the prize for ''The best Polish pianist'' at the 15th International Chopin Piano Competition in

. Mikulska was appointed to a professorship at the

Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber The Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber (Carl Maria von Weber College of Music; also/formerly known as Dresden Conservatory or Dresden Royal Conservatory) is a university of music in Dresden, Germany. History The Hochschule opened ...

in Dresden starting in the winter semester 2021/2022.

Selected discography

* 2010: Frédéric Chopin: Sonata in B Minor * 2011: Expressions: Piano Works by Joseph Haydn, Karol Szymanowski and Frédéric Chopin * 2013: Frédéric Chopin: Ballades * 2015: European Melodies: Aleksandra Mikulska plays Chopin & Franz Liszt * 2018: Souvenirs: Piano Works by Franz Liszt * 2020: Reflections: Piano Sonatas by Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt

Awards

* 2000: Second prize in the Concorso Internazionale di Pianoforte “E. Porrino” in

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...

, Italy. * 2005: Special prize for ''The best Polish pianist'' at the 15th International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, Poland. * 2007: Second and audience prize at the Musica Aeterna International Piano Competition in Wavre, Belgium.

References

*''The information in this article is based in its Deutsch equivalent''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mikulska, Aleksandra 1981 births Living people Polish classical pianists Women classical pianists 21st-century classical pianists Prize-winners of the International Chopin Piano Competition Musicians from Warsaw 21st-century women pianists