The Solomon Gadles Mikowsky Recital Hall

Teacher's Lesson in Giving
By SHELLY BANJO

Renowned piano instructor Solomon Mikowsky once bought an apartment for his students. Now, he's sold his apartment for them. Taking all the proceeds from the $325,000 sale of the one-bedroom in Morningside Heights near Columbia University, Mr. Mikowsky made a $500,000 donation to the nearby Manhattan School of Music. With the money, the school was able to build a new performance space in one of its old libraries. He also donated three Steinway Grand pianos and recording equipment.

The Cuban-born pianist has been teaching at the Manhattan School of Music since 1969. Mr. Mikowsky, came to America in 1956 after the Cuban government awarded him a scholarship to attend the Juilliard School and study under Russian concert pianist and teacher Sascha Gorodnitzki.

When nerve damage stopped him from playing piano, he began teaching at the Manhattan School of Music. "I could no longer express music through my own hands, heart and brain. Manhattan School of Music allowed me to do that through my students," Mr. Mikowsky says.

In the 1980s, he bought the apartment for $33,000 to house his students. At the time, Manhattan School of Music didn't have dormitories, which drove away talented musicians who couldn't afford New York apartment prices, Mr. Mikowsky said. So he would let his students rent the apartment from him at a lower cost. Now, students face a new challenge, he says.

Over the past 10 years, the size of the campus and number of students has more than doubled. Because of the school's growth, there aren't enough spaces for students to perform and practice. Many students wait months for access to recording facilities.

The new recital hall, built in the renovated building where Mr. Mikowsky has been playing for decades, adds another space for students to use. New recording equipment will allow students to make CDs or DVDs of their work to enter into music competitions. The new grand pianos will allow students to practice on the type of pianos used at most competitions and performances, rather than smaller pianos with which students take lessons.

Mr. Mikowsky is bringing a dozen of his best students from around the world, including China and Russia, to perform at an inaugural concert when the space opens in October. "Every student playing also came on full scholarship to Manhattan School of Music," he said. "This will be our way of saying thank you to the school."

Write to Shelly Banjo at shelly.banjo@wsj.com

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The Solomon Gadles Mikowsky Recital Hall Receives Finishing Touches

Solomon Mikowsky, a member of Manhattan School of Music’s piano faculty since 1974, has financed the construction of a new performance space as a gift to the School. Recently completed, the Solomon Gadles Mikowsky Recital Hall is a flexible recital hall with a raised wooden stage large enough to accommodate two grand pianos. It is housed in the School’s main building, in the space that formerly held the library, room 306.

Dr. Mikowsky, who was awarded a Presidential Medal by the School in 2008, has a long history in the building and feels a deep affinity with the place. After spending seven years as a student in the building when it belonged to Juilliard, he went on to teach as a member of the Juilliard Precollege faculty and then of the Manhattan School of Music Precollege and College faculty, all at the same Claremont Avenue address.

The small 740-square-foot hall has an adjoining vestibule, which will be used both as a green room and as storage for the two Steinway concert grand pianos when they are not in use. The recital hall has sound/vibration isolation doors and walls designed to give clarity and intimacy to performances and to provide noise/vibration control between the space and the adjoining practice rooms. The hall’s windows look out over Riverside Park and Grant’s Tomb.

Dr. Mikowsky, born in Cuba of Russian-Polish parentage, was granted scholarships by the Cuban government and the Juilliard School to study in New York with Sascha Gorodnitzki, where he earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. While studying at Juilliard he made the decision to make his career under his mother’s maiden name, Mikowsky. It is as a tribute to his father that the name of the hall now includes his full name, Solomon Gadles Mikowsky.

Dr. Mikowsky says he is happy and excited with the results: “I think the hall is beautiful and it will be very useful for the School. This will allow students to try out concerti and we can have two-piano concerts. I hope this hall will give the piano faculty a chance to hear our best students play on a concert grand in a recital hall when they are preparing for competitions and recitals. And this will allow them to make adjustments to sound and interpretation, many things that are different when you play on a concert grand rather than in the studio.”

“When I devoted myself to teaching it was here, and I love this school. I feel very confident in the School and in President Sirota. And my trust in him has led me to do something beyond my means.”
—Dr. Solomon Mikowsky

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The October 3rd, 2010 Inauguration Concert and the Dinner Party at
President Sirota's Penthouse Apartment at Manhattan School of Music

Click Here to Download PDF File - October 3 Letter & History (9MB)