Russell Sherman. Photo courtesy of New England Conservatory, where Sherman taught for many years.
In Sunday’s (10/1) Boston Globe, Jeremy Eichler writes, “Acclaimed as a poet of the keyboard, Russell Sherman was a pianist of arresting insight, majestic technique, and transfiguring grace. In his prime, he was compared with 20th-century luminaries such as Maurizio Pollini and Alfred Brendel. But with a self-described ‘anti-career bias,’ Mr. Sherman ultimately chose a quieter path devoted principally to the study and teaching of his art…. Mr. Sherman conveyed an almost mystically contented vision of the piano as refuge, as a source of bottomless fascination, and as a gateway to that exalted domain of the spirit that was music itself…. Sherman, who had many private students, began teaching at New England Conservatory 1967, and in his later years remained a distinguished artist in residence…. Sherman appeared with most of the country’s major orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the Philadelphia Orchestra…. He appeared 13 times with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, in works by composers ranging from Franz Liszt to John Harbison. He was also a prolific recording artist and the first American pianist to record the complete sonatas and piano concertos of Beethoven…. In addition to his wife, Wha Kyung Byun, Mr. Sherman leaves … two sons from an earlier marriage.”
