Morton Estrin (December 29, 1923 – December 7, 2017) was an American

classical 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 ...

and teacher. His career began in 1949 with a well-received recital at

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He studied with the teacher Vera Maurina-Press and others. Estrin made the first recording of

Alexander Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (; russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин ; – ) was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. Before 1903, Scriabin was greatly influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin and composed ...

's complete Twelve Etudes, Op. 8, which he re-recorded in 1991. Both recordings reflect the hallmarks of Estrin's style - a robust tone, formidable technique and an unusually large and sophisticated tonal palette. Other notable recordings include a selection of

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

intermezzo In music, an intermezzo (, , plural form: intermezzi), in the most general sense, is a composition which fits between other musical or dramatic entities, such as acts of a play or movements of a larger musical work. In music history, the term ha ...

s along with his Opus 119 piano pieces, and the complete Opus 32 Preludes of

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

. These records, released in the early 1970s on the

Connoisseur Society Connoisseur Society is an American audiophile classical music and jazz record label. It was founded by E. Alan Silver and James Goodfriend. Silver and Goodfriend helped artists from the Eastern bloc to perform in the US during the Cold War, amo ...

label, are among the best recordings of these works and continue to be available. Estrin's other recordings for the Connoisseur Society are also available. In 1985, Estrin played all 24 Rachmaninoff Preludes at

Alice Tully Hall Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The hall is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assist ...

. Estrin recorded several albums of miniatures entitled ''Great Hits You Played When You Were Young''. More recent recordings included a suite by Brahms contemporary

Joachim Raff Joseph Joachim Raff (27 May 182224 or 25 June 1882) was a German-Swiss composer, pedagogue and pianist. Biography Raff was born in Lachen in Switzerland. His father, a teacher, had fled there from Württemberg in 1810 to escape forced recruitme ...

and études by

Anton Rubinstein Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein ( rus, Антон Григорьевич Рубинштейн, r=Anton Grigor'evič Rubinštejn; ) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who became a pivotal figure in Russian culture when he founded the Sai ...

. Although Estrin performed throughout his career, he devoted most of his time to teaching. Estrin was a professor at

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...

and private teacher on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, where he resided until his death. His students included

John Mauceri John Francis Mauceri (born September 12, 1945) is an American conductor, producer, educator and writer. Since making his professional conducting debut almost half a century ago, he has appeared with most of the world's great orchestras, guest-con ...

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

, Mo Fink, and

Debbie Gibson Deborah Ann Gibson (born August 31, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Gibson released her debut album '' Out of the Blue'' in 1987, which spawned several international hits, later being certified triple plati ...

. Estrin died on December 7, 2017, at the age of 93.

References

External links

* (archived copy)
Morton Estrin Webpage, Hofstra University Music Department
{{DEFAULTSORT:Estrin, Morton 1923 births 2017 deaths American classical pianists American male pianists American music educators Male classical pianists Piano pedagogues People from Burlington, Vermont