Artur Lemba (24 September 1885,

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...

– 21 November 1963, Tallinn) was an Estonian composer and piano teacher, and one of the most important figures in Estonian classical music. Artur and his older brother Theodor (1876-1962) were the first professional pianists in Estonia to give concerts abroad. Artur's 1905 opera ''Sabina'' was the first opera composed by an Estonian. His Symphony No. 1 in 1908 was the first symphony composed by an Estonian.Estonian Music Information Center
/ref> Lemba was a finalist in the prestigious Anton Rubinstein Competition and later a professor at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory.

Early life and education

Artur Lemba learned piano from his brother Theodor Lemba. In 1899, following in his brother's footsteps, he enrolled at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. There he studied piano with Carl van Arck, Prof. V. Tolstov and I. Borovka. His composition teacher was Nicolai Soloviev and he studied music theory with Alexander Lyadov, Alexander Glazunov and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. In 1908, he graduated, receiving a gold medal in piano, a silver medal in composition, and the Anton Rubinstein prize (a Schröder piano). At his graduation ceremony, Lemba performed his Piano Concerto No. 1. In 1910, Artur Lemba participated in the Anton Rubinstein Competition for pianists, where he placed among the eight finalists, including Arthur Rubinstein and

Edwin Fischer Edwin Fischer (6 October 1886 – 24 January 1960) was a Swiss classical pianist and conductor. He is regarded as one of the great interpreters of J.S. Bach and Mozart in the twentieth century. Biography Fischer was born in Basel and studied ...

Career

After his graduation in 1908, Lemba became a piano teacher at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. In 1915 he became a professor. He taught and gave concerts in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

until 1920. Returning to Estonia, Lemba worked as a piano teacher, eventually becoming head of the piano department at the Tallinn Conservatory. Notable students included Elsa Avesson, Olav Roots, Villem Reimann, Veera Lensin, Kirill Raudsepp and others. In addition to the concerts in Estonia, Lemba performed in Saint Petersburg, Riga,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

, Odessa,

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

and Stockholm.

Music

Lemba's Piano Concerto No. 1 in G major (1905) is often regarded as his best known work, described as having a memorable melody. Lemba's ''Poéme d’amour'' (1916) for violin and piano is also popular in the violin repertoire. Lemba composed in almost every genre, with two symphonies (the first of which is the earliest example by an Estonian composer), three overtures, four operas, three cantatas, chamber music for different ensembles and 30 choral works. For the piano, Lemba wrote five piano concertos, two sonatas, two sonatinas, two preludes and more than 20

étude An étude (; ) or study is an instrumental musical composition, usually short, designed to provide practice material for perfecting a particular musical skill. The tradition of writing études emerged in the early 19th century with the rapid ...

References

External links

List of Compositions by Artur Lemba
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemba, Artur 1885 births 1963 deaths Musicians from Tallinn People from the Governorate of Estonia 20th-century classical composers Male classical composers Saint Petersburg Conservatory alumni Burials at Metsakalmistu 20th-century Estonian musicians 20th-century Estonian composers 20th-century male musicians