Paul Kochanski (born Paweł Kochański; 30 August 1887 – 12 January 1934[1]) was a Polish violinist, composer and arranger active in the United States.
[2] Paweł Kochański was born in Odesa to Polish-Jewish parents and studied violin first with his father and then at age 7 with Emil Młynarski, whose teacher had been Leopold Auer.
[3] They immediately realised their shared musical sympathies, but the friendship, rich with youthful energy, really took off in 1907 with their concerts for the Warsaw Philharmonic, including duo performances of Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata and Tchaikovsky's Piano Trio with the cellist J.
Stravinsky dedicated a transcription for violin and piano of three pieces from The Firebird to Kochanski, who participated in two of Rubinstein's recitals at Bechstein Hall in 1914, one of which was devoted entirely to contemporary music.
[6] In 1916 he succeeded Leopold Auer, teaching at the St. Petersburg Conservatory until 1918; during that time he became friends with Sergei Prokofiev and gave the composer some assistance on matters of technique for the solo part of his Violin Concerto No.
They were rapidly received into musical circles, Kochanski and Rubinstein giving the world premiere of Ernest Bloch's Violin Sonata No.
[2] In 1933, when he was already dying, he helped Szymanowski complete his Second Violin Concerto and gave the premiere; when published (after Kochanski's death), the score bore a dedication to him.
[9] According to Rubinstein, who loved him as his dearest friend, Kochanski enjoyed conversations with straightforward people, played cards and sometimes spoke roughly.
The Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage funded the purchase of his written creative work from Sotheby's, New York in December 1988 for the Library.