Boris Berman

Who is Boris Berman?

Boris Berman is a Russian pianist and pedagogue.

He was a student of Lev Oborin at the Moscow Conservatory. He made his debut in Moscow in 1965. He joined an early music ensemble, at the time the only one in Russia, as a harpsichordist. At the same time he worked with contemporary composers such as Alfred Schnittke and Edison Denisov. He played in the first Russian performances of works by Arnold Schoenberg, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Luciano Berio and György Ligeti. He also was a guest soloist with several orchestras, including the Moscow Philharmonic and the Moscow Chamber orchestras.

In 1973 he was permitted to leave the Soviet Union for Israel. In 1979 he migrated to the United States and has since taught at Boston University, Brandeis University, and Indiana University. He is currently the head of the Piano Department at the Yale School of Music. He was the Founding Director of the Music Spectrum concert series in Israel and of the Yale Music Spectrum series in the USA. In 2005, he was named an Honorary Professor of the Shanghai Conservatory and in 2013, an Honorary Professor of the Royal Danish Conservatory in Copenhagen.