Boris Berlin (27 May 1907 – 24 March 2001) was a Canadian

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original ...

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

, and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

of Russian birth. He is primarily remembered for his work within the field of piano pedagogy, having published an extensive amount of material in that area and teaching a large number of notable pianists. His more than 20 books on the subject of piano pedagogy sold more than 4 million copies. In 2000 he was made an

Officer of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

with the citation "Known as the teacher of teachers, he profoundly influenced musical instruction in our country. Having taught some of Canada's most illustrious musicians, he was known for his extensive contribution to pedagogical material and for his piano pieces for young performers."

Life and career

Born in Kharkov, Russian Empire, Berlin began his professional musical education at the Sebastopol Conservatory. From 1923 to 1925 he attended the Conservatoire de Genève and then pursued further studies at the

Berlin Hochschule für Musik The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universiti ...

where he was a pupil of

Mark Hambourg Mark Hambourg (russian: Марк Михайлович Гамбург, 1 June 1879 – 26 August 1960) was a Russian British concert pianist. Life Mark Hambourg was the eldest son of the pianist Michael Hambourg (1855–1916), a pupil o ...

and

Leonid Kreutzer Leonid Kreutzer (13 March 1884 in St. Petersburg – 30 October 1953 in Tokyo) was a classical pianist. Life and career Kreutzer was born in St. Petersburg into a Jewish family. He studied composition under Alexander Glazunov and piano under Anna ...

. He began his career in Europe performing as a concert pianist, mainly in Germany and Switzerland. Berlin toured the Ontario region in

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

concerts with a trio in 1925. In the same year, he took a position at th
Hambourg Conservatory of Music
in Toronto where he remained through 1927. In 1928 he joined the piano faculty at the

Toronto Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher as The Toronto Con ...

(now The Royal Conservatory of Music) where he remained for several decades. At his position in the conservatory, he shifted focus to writing Canadian pedagogical works for music students and published his first collaboration with

Ernest MacMillan Sir Ernest Alexander Campbell MacMillan, (August 18, 1893 – May 6, 1973) was a Canadian orchestral conductor, composer, organist, and Canada's only "Musical Knight". He is widely regarded as being Canada's pre-eminent musician, from the ...

in 1930. He became a naturalized Canadian citizen in 1931. In 1970 he joined the faculty of the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. He also served as examiner, lecturer, and festival adjudicator throughout his career. Among his notable pupils are the classical pianists

Louis Applebaum Louis Applebaum (April 3, 1918April 19, 2000) was a Canadian film score composer, administrator, and conductor. Early life He was born in Toronto, Ontario, and studied at the Toronto Conservatory of Music with Leo Smith and the University o ...

, Gwen Beamish MacMillan, Victor Alexeeff, Bernadene Blaha, Keith MacMillan, Andrew Markow,

Christina Petrowska-Quilico Christina Petrowska Quilico (born December 30, 1948) is a Canadian pianist. She is a professor emerita, senior scholar at York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2020 “For her celebrated career ...

, Dorothy Sandler, Geraldine Shuster Leder, Adrienne Shannon, Peter C. Simon, Lydia Wong, and the jazz pianists

Norman Amadio Albert Norman Benedict "Norm" Amadio (April 14, 1928 – January 21, 2020) was a Canadian jazz pianist, piano teacher, music coach, composer, arranger, session player, band leader and accompanist. For a span of fifty years he worked for the ...

and

Rudy Toth Rudy Toth (16 December 1925 – 9 July 2009) was a Canadian composer, arranger, conductor, pianist, and cimbalom player of Czech birth. As a composer he wrote works mainly for television and the radio, working frequently for the Canadian ...

as well as the conductor Charles Olivieri-Munroe. He composed many pieces including "March of the Goblins", "Monkeys in the tree", and "Jets on Parade". The Royal Conservatory of Music named Berlin a "Heritage Teacher" in a ceremony on 6 April 1990. In 1992 he was awarded the

125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal The 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal (french: Médaille commémorative du 125e anniversaire de la Confédération du Canada) is a commemorative medal struck by the Royal Canadian Mint to commemorate the 125th anniversary of ...

and was made a Member of the

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario () is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is adm ...

. In 2000 he became an Officer of the Order of Canada, but died in March 2001 in Toronto before the ceremony honouring him with this title was held.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berlin, Boris 1907 births 2001 deaths Canadian composers Canadian male composers Canadian classical pianists Male classical pianists Members of the Order of Ontario Canadian music educators Officers of the Order of Canada The Royal Conservatory of Music faculty University of Toronto faculty 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century Canadian pianists Canadian male pianists 20th-century Canadian male musicians Soviet emigrants to Canada