Annette Block Berger

Annette Block Berger, who rose from humble beginnings as the daughter of Russian immigrant greengrocers to become a highly respected concert pianist, passed away on Monday in West Long Branch, N.J. She was 94 years old

Mrs. Berger, of Verona, N.J., and Delray Beach, Fla., died at the home of her daughter Alison Block and son-in-law Barry Shapiro after a vigorous battle with lung cancer.

Nee Annette Fishman, Mrs. Berger grew up in Atlantic City, N.J., in a small apartment above her parents’ fruit and vegetable market. At age 13 she entered the scholarship-only Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where, using the name Annette Elkanova, she was classmate and colleague of the late conductor/composer Leonard Bernstein, among other luminaries. There, from 1934 to 1942, she studied under the tutelage of the Russian pianist, Madame Isabelle Vengerova.

At her debut alone, at Convention Hall in Atlantic City, she was hailed for her “wrists of steel” in performances of octave-heavy Liszt compositions. By age 21 she was concertizing to impressive reviews, and was a winner of the prestigious Naumberg Award in 1942.

Mrs. Berger was widowed three times, losing her first husband, Dr. Charles Block, when she was 34, and her second, businessman Albert Nierenberg, in her mid-40s. . She lost her third husband, international engineer Louis Berger in 1996. Despite the early blows – the loss of Dr. Block and Mr. Nierenberg - she raised and educated three children on her own, by working at the admission-only Arts High School, in Newark, N.J, where she taught music theory and harmony.

Mrs. Berger leaves behind three children – Dr. Alison Block, Dr. Gilbert Block, and Deborah Block, and two grandchildren, Matthew and William Block. She is survived also by her son-in-law Barry Shapiro and her daughter-in-law Dr. Julie Low. Memorial services for her will be held Wednesday 1:00pm gravesiide at the Beth Israel Cemetery.