William Black.

William Black, a respected performer and professor of piano at the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music, died December 10, 2003, of cancer.

Black made a historical premier recording of the original version of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Fourth Piano Concerto in 1991, with Igor Buketoff conducting the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. Throughout his career, Black performed many additional times as a soloist, including with the English Baroque Orchestra, the Caecilia Consort, the National Gallery Orchestra, the Philharmonia Virtuosi, the New Amsterdam Symphony, and the orchestras of Dallas, Houston, Wichita Falls, North Carolina, Albany, Cincinnati and Saginaw, among others.

Black's concert appearances included recitals and concerto performances in many U.S. cities, including New York City's Lincoln Center and Carnegie Recital Hall and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. His European tours included performances in Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium, Ukraine, Iceland, China, Taiwan and Japan.

Winner of many competitions and prizes, including the Concert Artists Guild competition and the Texoma Young Artists Competition, Black was awarded a Solo Recitalist grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Black held a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College and master's and doctor's degrees from The Juilliard School. He also studied at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. His teachers included Rosina Lhevinne, Beveridge Webster, Eugene List, Emil Danenberg, Arthur Dann and Bomar Cramer. Black joined the CCM faculty in 1987, and at the time of his death, he served as chair of the piano department.

The former students of Black are active as performers, college professors and private teachers throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia. Many are winners of national and international competitions. Black's most recent students also are active performing in the U.S. and abroad.

In addition to his work at CCM and his performances, Black also frequently gave master classes and workshops at schools, both in the U.S. and abroad; had given several guest lectures for Piano Literature classes at The Juilliard School; and was active as a competition adjudicator. He served as consulting editor of Keyboard Classics/Piano Today since 1981, and had several articles published by various music journals and in Piano Master Class: Lessons From Today's Premiere Artists.

A memorial fund has been established in Black's name; donations may be sent to the William Black Memorial Fund, c/o College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, P.O. Box 210003, Cincinnati, OH 45221.