Joseph Meyer Bloch (pronounced "block", November 6, 1917 – March 4, 2009) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

concert pianist and professor of piano literature at the Juilliard School in New York City. During a career at Juilliard that spanned five decades, Bloch's students included Emanuel Ax, Van Cliburn,

Misha Dichter Misha Dichter (born September 27, 1945) is an American pianist. Biography Misha Dichter was born in Shanghai to Polish-Jewish parents who fled during WWII. He moved with his family to Los Angeles, California, at the age of two and began studying p ...

, Garrick Ohlsson, Jeffrey Siegel,

Şahan Arzruni Şahan Arzruni ( hy, Շահան Արծրունի; born 8 June 1943) is an Armenian classical pianist, ethnomusicologist, lecturer, composer, writer and producer, residing in New York City. Early life and education Arzruni (also transliterated ...

, and

Jeffrey Swann Jeffrey Swann (born November 24, 1951) is an American classical pianist. Swann was born in Arizona but moved to Dallas, Texas, as a young child. He began piano studies at the age of four. While attending St. Mark's School of Texas, he studied for ...

. During his time at the school, with the exception of an attempted retirement in the 1980s, Bloch taught every piano student at Juilliard. While other Juilliard piano instructors taught prowess at the keyboard, Bloch focused on what '' The New York Times'' described as "the who, the why and the what-if" of the piano, not "the how-to". For one year, 1995–96, Mr. Bloch co-taught the Juilliard piano literature courses with

Bruce Brubaker Bruce Brubaker is a musician, artist, concert pianist, and writer from the United States. Concepts Brubaker's work uses and combines Western classical music with postmodern artistic, literary, theatrical, and philosophical ideas. He is associat ...

. After Mr. Bloch’s retirement in 1996, Brubaker continued teaching the piano literature courses at Juilliard for nine years. Bloch was born on November 6, 1917, in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

, Indiana. He attended

Chicago Musical College Chicago Musical College is a division of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. History Founding Dr. Florenz Ziegfeld Sr (1841–1923), founded the college in 1867 as the Chicago Academy of Music. The institution h ...

, where he was awarded a bachelor's degree and later attended Harvard University, where he earned a master's degree in

musicology Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

. His education was interrupted by his service in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, where he was stationed in Guam.Fox, Margalit
"Joseph Bloch, Guide to Juilliard Pianists, Dies at 91"
'' The New York Times'', March 14, 2009. Accessed March 14, 2009. While serving in the army Air Forces, he was stationed at Lowry Field in Denver, Colorado and became a captain. Bloch was a National Patron of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity.Delta Omicron
Bloch died at 91 on March 4, 2009, due to a heart attack at his home in Larchmont, New York.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bloch, Joseph Meyer 1917 births 2009 deaths Harvard University alumni Juilliard School faculty Musicians from Indianapolis Chicago Musical College alumni United States Army Air Forces officers 20th-century American pianists American male pianists Educators from Indiana 20th-century American male musicians United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II