Adolf Gottlieb was a Soviet composer, professor, and musicologist. He was born in Moscow on August 24, 1910, and died there on April 12, 1973. He received the title Honored Artist of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in 1969 and earned a Candidate of Art Studies degree in 1942.
Gottlieb graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1931, where he studied piano with Konstantin Igumnov. In 1932 he joined the All-Union Radio Committee as a soloist. There he and his brother, Mikhail Gottlieb, formed the country’s first piano duo; Adolf performed in the duo for about 45 years. He also graduated from the theater studies faculty of the State Institute of Theatre Arts in 1935.
From 1936 to 1949, he taught piano ensemble at the music school attached to the Moscow Conservatory. From 1941 to 1944, he taught piano at the Saratov State Conservatory. He joined the Gnessin Musical-Pedagogical Institute as an associate professor in 1943, became a professor in 1955, and headed its chamber ensemble department.
In 1959, Gottlieb founded a student chamber orchestra and became its artistic director. From 1960, the ensemble was part of the All-Russian Touring and Concert Association. He wrote about 100 transcriptions for two pianos and, as a music critic, published articles under the pseudonym A. Kramskoy. His articles included writing on pianists Lev Oborin, Yakov Zak, Emil Gilels, Yakov Flier, Heinrich Neuhaus, Stanislav Neuhaus, and Grigory Ginzburg. His books include Emil Gilels (1964), Fundamentals of Ensemble Technique (1971), and First Lessons in Piano Ensemble (1971).
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