Pavel Lamm (1882-1951)

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Pavel Lamm, a well-known musicologist, pianist, and music teacher, was born in Moscow in 1882. From his early childhood he studied music. In 1896-1900 and in 1904 he was a student of F.Lercher (piano) and A.Grechaninov (theory of music). In 1900 he left for Germany where he studied law in Bonn and Koeln universities. In 1912 he graduated form Moscow Conservatory as a pianist.

In 1906-1912 he performed as an accompanist to a well-known singer M. Olenina-d’Alheim, including concerts in the “House of a Song” founded by her. Until 1917 he used to perform as a pianist.

In the 20s and 30s the so-called “Lamm’s circle” became rather famous in Moscow. This was a circle of professional musicians and amateurs who conducted musical gatherings in the Lamm’s apartment. Among them were A. Alexandrov, S.Feinberg, A.Gedike, A.Goldenweiser, K.Igumnov, G. Catoire, G.Neihaus, L.Oborin, A.Olenin, K.Saradzhev, V.Shebalin, and others. The actual leader of this group was N. Myaskovsky, who was a close friend of Lamm and devoted his 7th symphony to him. Many transcriptions of Russian and Western music for four and eight hands done by Lamm were played at these gatherings. All 27 symphonies of Myaskovsky were played there in Lamm’s and the author’s own transcriptions.

From 1919 till 1951 P.Lamm was a professor of the Moscow Conservatory. In 1944 he became a doctor of art studies and until 1948 worked in the Commission on source and textual studies at the Moscow Conservatory.

From the early 30s, Lamm’s family and Myaskovsky spent summers in Nikolina Gora, Moscow oblast. His hospitable log “dacha” in the pine forest became a place where Myaskovsky composed many of his works. Having Shebalin and Prokofiev as neighbors allowed continuing the famous musical gatherings through summer. P.Lamm died in 1951 in Nikolina Gora. He was buried at Vvedenskoye cemetary in Moscow.