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, p ...

concert

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

and professor of piano literature at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. During a career at Juilliard that spanned five decades, Bloch's students included

Emanuel Ax Emanuel "Manny" Ax (born June 8, 1949) is a Grammy Award-winning American classical pianist. He is known for his chamber music collaborations with cellist Yo-Yo Ma and violinists Isaac Stern and Young Uck Kim, as well as his piano recitals and p ...

Van Cliburn Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. (July 12, 1934February 27, 2013) was an American pianist. At the age of 23, Cliburn achieved worldwide recognition when he won the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958 during the Cold ...

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 ...

Garrick Ohlsson Garrick Olaf Ohlsson (born April 3, 1948) is an American classical pianist. In 1970 Ohlsson became the first, and remains the only, competitor from the United States to win the gold medal awarded by the International Chopin Piano Competition, at ...

, Jeffrey Siegel,

Şahan Arzruni Şahan Arzruni (; born 8 June 1943) is a New York–based Armenian-American classical pianist, ethnomusicologist, lecturer, composer, writer and producer. Early life and education Arzruni (also transliterated as Artsruni), whose family name bel ...

, 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 fo ...

. 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 ''

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'' 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. 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 List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. He attended

Chicago Musical College Chicago Musical College is a division of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois, United States. History Founding Dr. Florenz Ziegfeld Sr (1841–1923), founded the college in 1867 as the Chicag ...

, where he was awarded a bachelor's degree and later attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, where he earned a master's degree in

musicology Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, ...

. His education was interrupted by his service in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, where he was stationed in

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

.Fox, Margalit
"Joseph Bloch, Guide to Juilliard Pianists, Dies at 91"
''

'', March 14, 2009. Accessed March 14, 2009. While serving in the army Air Forces, he was stationed at

Lowry Field Lowry Air Force Base (Lowry Field from 1938–1948) is a former United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) training base during World War II and a United States Air Force (USAF) training base during the Cold War. From 1955-1958, it served as the i ...

in Denver, Colorado and became a captain. Bloch was a National Patron of

Delta Omicron Delta Omicron () is a co-ed international professional music honors fraternity whose mission is to promote and support excellence in music and musicianship. History Delta Omicron International Music Fraternity was founded on September 6, 1909 a ...

, an international professional music fraternity.Delta Omicron
Bloch died at 91 on March 4, 2009, due to a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

at his home in

Larchmont, New York Larchmont is a Village (New York), village located within the Town (New York), Town of Mamaroneck (town), New York, Mamaroneck in Westchester County, New York. Larchmont is a suburb of New York City, located approximately northeast of Midt ...

References

External links

* * * {{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