Leonid Beckman was a Russian biologist and agronomist, a candidate of natural sciences, and an amateur musician. He is best known for composing the melody of the song “A Christmas Tree Was Born in the Forest.” He had no formal musical education.
Beckman studied natural sciences at Moscow University and later graduated from the Petrovsky Agricultural Academy. He worked as a biologist and agronomist. As an amateur, he taught himself piano and took part in a student choir.
On October 17, 1905, Beckman composed the melody for a poem published in the children’s magazine “Little One,” during a family gathering. His wife, pianist Elena Beckman-Shcherbina, wrote it down in musical notation. The couple later prepared and published the collection “Vera’s Songs.”
Beckman was born on September 21, 1871, and died on November 11, 1939. He was buried at New Donskoy Cemetery in Moscow.
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