Maxim Karolik

Maxim Karolik (November 21, 1893 – December 20, 1963), born in what is now Ukraine, he became a featured tenor for the Imperial Russian Grand Opera (later known as the Petrograd Grand Opera). He toured in Europe as a young man. He left Russia during the Bolshevik Revolution and moved to the United States to continue study of music.

There he met and married Martha Catharine Codman, from one of Boston, Massachusetts's wealthiest families. Mrs.Karolik had inherited many of the pieces of silver, engravings, and other artifacts from her colonial ancestors.

Afterward Karolik gave a third large donation of collected art works to the Museum of Fine Arts. He also returned to music. Karolik recorded Russian Art Songs (1958), thirty songs collected in a three-album set from Unicorn Records in Boston. A 48-page book was included with the album set. It had an introductory essay by Nicholas Slonimsky titled "Russian Music in Art Songs."