Last Sunday a memorial concert wa held for Joseph Schwartz, celebrated pianist who served as a professor of Piano at Oberlin from 1960 to 1998, where he also served as chair of the Piano  department. Schwartz’s robust artistic career began at the age of eight when he gave his first recital. He won his first concerto competition at 14 and then went on to study at The Juilliard School. Upon graduation, he gave concerts around the U.S., as well as in London, Brussels, Hamburg, Hong Kong, and elsewhere, garnering renown and awards. After settling down at Oberlin, he started Oberlin’s Summer Piano Institute in 1983. The next year, he formed the Oberlin Piano Trio with Adnor Toth, former professor emeritus of violoncello and chamber music, and Stephen Clapp, former Oberlin professor of violin and dean emeritus of Juilliard.

Chair of the Piano Department Alvin Chow commented on Schwartz’s legacy as a pianist, evident at the memorial concert.

“Professor Schwartz retired in 1998, and I joined the Oberlin faculty in 1999, so we never overlapped in our work here,” Chow said. “However, his reputation as a performer and pedagogue was known to me since my youth. My colleagues always considered him to be an outstanding pianist who communicated easily with audiences and students alike. They describe him as generous, humble, and a natural leader who served officially as chair of the department for many years and also unofficially as mentor … to the younger members of the piano faculty.  Students flocked to study with him, and his legacy as a teacher was quite evident in yesterday’s memorial concert. … Many [former students] have gone on to successful performing and teaching careers of their own, and their gratitude and respect for him was palpable all afternoon.”

Schwartz’s niece, Devra Seidel, OC ’05, and his two sons, Michael Schwartz, OC ’84, and Stephen Schwartz, organized the event.

“When my dad passed in February, I figured we should definitely have a memorial in Oberlin because he was such a big part of the town and the town was such a big part of our lives,” Stephen Schwartz said. “All the students and all the faculty — who he was family with really — we decided we should definitely do something in his honor.”

All three of them also offered tributes. Their efforts were supported by Chow, as well as the Conservatory, which provided Warner Concert Hall as a venue. The audience and the stage were filled with former students, friends, and family who shared verbal tributes and played upon the Hamburg Steinway dedicated to Schwartz by Motoko Deane, OC ’71, and Gordon L. Deane, laboriously transported from Klonick Hall for this event.

“The event was truly a family affair,” Chow said.  “As current chair of the Piano Department, it was my honor to help the family create a fitting tribute for such a valued member of the Oberlin community. The family worked to contact hundreds of former students, colleagues and friends. This has been months in the making, but all of the hard work culminated beautifully in yesterday’s moving memorial concert.” 

Seidel performed Chopin’s Nocturne in D-flat major at the concert, which she worked on with her uncle for her Oberlin audition. She also noticed the stylistic impact of her uncle’s teaching on other students.

“I could hear my dad in all the students’ playing — their touch, their sense of timing,” Seidel said. “I would call it the Joseph Schwartz touch.”

Many students who didn’t make it to the concert still reached out to Seidel. “[In] the responses we got — new ones are still coming in — so many people [are] talking about his legacy and the impact that he had on their lives,” Seidel said. A woman wrote, he was the greatest musical influence  of her life. There were a number who weren’t even his students but had some amazing things to say.”

He clearly had an impact on Seidel herself, who has her masters degree in Classical Piano from Manhattan School of Music, following in her uncle’s footsteps.She has since gone on to pursue theater acting and music direction. Stephen Schwartz likewise has established a successful musical career, working as an arranger and multi-instrumentalist with P!nk, Snoop Dogg, Chappell Roan, Olivia Rodrigo, and more.

“They were always supportive, never forceful,” Stephen said. “[Music] was always there if I wanted it and I pursued it. Their support and their passion for music … helped me become who I am.”

Although Joseph Schwartz’s other son, Michael, did not pursue a musical career, he also appreciates his father’s impact on his worldview.

“My dad instilled a love of music in me, but also a desire to keep learning about the world and how it worked — science, philosophy, nature, murder mysteries — these were his passions,” Michael said. “He taught us to respect all people no matter what their background. He taught me how to appreciate the little things in life: days spent with family and friends, going to a beach or museums, listening to music  But mostly I think, he taught me by example how to be a good father, which I’m most grateful for. I think becoming a grandfather was one of his proudest moments in life”

The concert closed with the screening of two videos of Schwartz own performances at Oberlin — Chopin’s Fantasie Impromptu in C-sharp minor and Impromptu in F-sharp major, the latter on the piano dedicated to him.

“[Joseph Schwartz was] one of the great pianists of the generation and yet he was just so  humble,” Seidel said. “He really was a legend.”