Morton Estrin, the noted American pianist, was born in Burlington, Vermont in 1923. His career began in 1949 with a well-received recital at Town Hall. He studied with the noted teacher Vera Maurina-Press and others.
Estrin is well-known for making the first-ever recording of Alexander Scriabin's complete opus 8 Etudes, which he re-recorded in 1991. Both recordings contain many of 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 intermezzos along with his Opus 119 piano pieces, and the complete Opus 32 Preludes of Sergei Rachmaninoff. These records, released in the early 1970s on the Connoisseur Society label, are among the best recordings of these works ever made, and continue to be available in re-release on CD. Rarely has the Rachmaninoff been rendered with such a balance of tone, energy, and romantic fervor. Rarely has Brahms sounded so robust. After being out of print for a number of years, these recordings, along with the rest of Estrin's output for the Connoisseur Society, have been re-released on CD.[1]
In 1985, Estrin played[2] all 24 Rachmaninoff Preludes at Alice Tully Hall.
Estrin has also recorded several albums of miniatures entitled "Great Hits You Played When You Were Young." More recent recordings include a suite by Brahms contemporary Joachim Raff and Etudes by Anton Rubinstein.
Although Estrin has actively concertized throughout his career and continues to do so, he has devoted most of his time to teaching. Estrin has long been a professor at Hofstra University and private teacher on Long Island, where he resides. Particularly accomplished students include[3] Jeffrey Biegel, John Mauceri, Seth Carlin, Annie Pasqua, Rhoda Pinsley Levin,[4] Billy Joel and Deborah Gibson.