The melodrama of the divinely gifted lute player, ‘buried’ by passions and vices: the unknown story of Sincemi Lambru with Maria Tanase

You’ve probably heard of the famous lute-player Sinemie Lambru. He became an incredible success in Romanian party music, being applauded both in Romania and abroad thanks to the great performer Maria Tănase.

Maria Tănase paved his way to stardom when the Roma accordionist was just 24 years old. Fărâmiță Lambru was born on 15 September 1927 into a family of gypsy lute players.

The man learned to play the accordion as a child, and made his debut in the artistic world when he was in the army. He started playing the accordion in 1949 in a military band.

Sinmiță Lambru became famous thanks to Maria Tănase

Lambru met the late Maria Tănase who “made him a man” at the Estrada Theatre. Together with the artist, the accordionist performed hundreds of shows in the country and abroad. Lambru went on to play in France, Italy and Germany. After her death in 1963, Fărâmiță Lambru made a career as a popular accordion virtuoso and conductor of professional bands.

The talented artist was one of the original lutenists of the Bucharest area in the second half of the 20th century. He was heard at all the parties and even now, even though decades have passed since his death, people still keep his music alive.

Eventually, Sansmiță fell ill with diabetes, but continued his career, even despite early signs of lung disease. It is said that he never cut himself any slack and never turned down an invitation to shows, weddings or christenings, and was also a heavy smoker. The man fell ill with tuberculosis and after a difficult ordeal died in 1974, aged just 47. He was buried in the “Izvorul Nou” cemetery in Bucharest.

Fărâmiță Lambru’s daughter, Camelia, followed her father’s passion and is also an artist. She has lived for a long time in Greece, on the island of Rhodos, and is a violinist and music teacher.