Miron Polyakin

Miron Polyakin was a Russian and Soviet violinist and pedagogue. Born Meer Borukhovich Polyakin on 12 February 1895 in Cherkasy, he grew up in a large family. After his mother died in 1902 following the birth of her youngest son, his father sent the seven-year-old boy to relatives in Kyiv so that he could continue his education.

In Kyiv he studied at a music school with Elena Vonsovskaya, a pupil of Ferdinand Laub. From 1909 he continued his training at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory under Leopold Auer. On 24 January 1909 he gave his first solo concert in Saint Petersburg, marking the beginning of his public career as a violinist.

From 1917 to 1926 Polyakin toured in various countries around the world. He made his New York debut on 27 February 1922. After these years of international concert activity, he returned to the Soviet Union.

Polyakin then became a prominent teacher as well as performer, serving as professor at the Leningrad Conservatory from 1928 to 1936 and at the Moscow Conservatory from 1936 until 1941. While in Leningrad he lived in the well-known Tolstoy House. He was remembered as a true romantic of violin playing, an inspired poet of the violin whose phrasing, melodic intonation, and even individual sounds were marked by a poetic quality.

In 1940 he was awarded the title Honored Artist of the RSFSR. He also appeared in the film Beethoven Concerto in 1936. Polyakin died in Moscow on 21 May 1941 and was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery.