Raoul Koczalski

Having made his first public appearance in 1888 (aged 4), his parents took him to play for Anton Rubinstein, who foresaw the possibility of a performing career.

He never studied at a conservatory but had further private lesson on the piano and in composition with Ludwig Marek (1891–1892), Karol Mikuli (1893–1895) (Chopin's favorite Polish student and composer) and instrumentation with Henryk Jarecki (1893–1894).

His thousandth concert was given in Leipzig in 1896, and by the age of 12 he had received awards such as the Order of the Lion and Sun (from the Shah of Persia), the title of Court Pianist (from the King of Spain), and a medal from the Turkish Sultan.

During World War II he was again interned (in Berlin), and in 1945 he went to live in Poznań, accepting a post as professor in the State Higher School of Music.

("Sein Spiel meidet Extreme, ist klar, farbig, mit fließender, subtiler Phrasierung und breiter Dynamik.

")[6] His pupils included Detlef Kraus, Monique de La Bruchollerie, Hanna Rudnicka-Kruszewska, Wanda Losakiewicz and Irena Wyrzykowska-Mondelska.