Artur Lemba

Soviet envelope with imprinted stamp, bearing a portrait of Artur Lemba, issued on his 100th birthday (24 September 1985). The envelope has been cancelled in Moscow on the first day of issue Artur Lemba (24 September 1885 – 21 November 1963) 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.

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 was born in Tallinn on 24 September 1885 as a son of piano tuner Gustav Lemba. 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 Anatoly Lyadov, Alexander Glazunov and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

Lemba's Poéme d’amour (1916) for violin and piano is also popular in the violin repertoire.