Highly regarded self-taught concert musician who wrote The Classical Style, an indispensable tome for musicians.
He was enrolled at Juilliard when he was six. He attended Princeton University when he was 17, studying French, mathematics, and philosophy.
He became an author and a scholar after he turned 40 with his first column for New York Review of Books appearing in 1970.
His mother Anita Gerber was an amateur pianist and actress, while his father Irwin was an architect.
He recorded the works of many composers, including Igor Stravinsky's Movements for Piano and Orchestra.