Alvin Novak Of Water Mill Dies April 16

Alvin Novak of Water Mill died on April 16 at home. He was 92.

In declining health in recent months, he was cared for by his partner of more than 50 years, Sidney Talisman.

Born in Chicago on December 8, 1928, to Michael and Sayde Novak, he began piano studies at an early age and was a precocious student, according to his survivors. After high school, he moved to Los Angeles and enrolled at UCLA, where he studied philosophy and lived in a rooming house with aspiring writers. In 1957, he moved to New York, where, despite not having planned to become a professional musician, he resumed his piano studies, encouraged by the piano duo Gold and Fizdale. In the 1960s, he honed his teaching skills at the Dalcroze School of Music and studied with several prominent teachers, thus beginning a career as a professional musician, concentrating on chamber music and accompanying singers.

In New York, in addition to continuing his friendships with several transplanted Californians, he met and formed bonds with an ever-expanding number of artists, musicians, poets and writers and began making visits to the East End, where he enjoyed the company of many, including Jane Freilicher, Jane Wilson and John Gruen.

In 1966, Mr. Novak met Sidney Talisman, a social worker, and in 1970 they purchased property on Noyac Path in Water Mill, where they built a simple rustic home nestled in the woods and overlooking farm fields. It became their refuge and delight for more than 40 years.

A voracious reader of many genres, Mr. Novak was a weekly visitor to the Rogers Memorial Library. Soprano Kate Hurney, who performed with him at the library numerous times over the years, remembers him as someone who “made you feel witty and special and was always offering the perfect apercu, and so kind.” To the delight of all, Alvin retained his laser wit and charm to the end, survivors said.

Longtime close friend Joan Rosenbaum remembers that “Forty-five years ago I began piano lessons with Alvin and it became a way of studying life itself and offered me the opportunity to forge a friendship in which I was educated and inspired by his extraordinary insight, humor and love.”

Mr. Novak and Mr. Talisman loved to travel and took many trips over the years. They were especially fond of England and Italy, where they saw friends and paid visits to horticultural landmarks.

It was music, and the piano, that offered Mr. Novak the greatest pleasure and purpose. Canadian pianist Katherine Addleman, his longtime friend and frequent musical collaborator, said “I always learned something listening to Alvin play. He would throw in tiny nuances, turns of phrase, unexpected articulations in pieces that I’d heard a million times, offering totally fresh perspectives and experiences of understanding and beauty.”

Even during the last year of diminished health, he practiced for hours every day, taking pleasure in returning to works from his vast repertoire and learning new material.

He taught at the Bloomingdale House of Music, the Eastern Suffolk School of Music, and was the original director of piano at The Harlem School of the Arts. He toured the U.S. and Europe with cellist Dimitri Markevitch and performed at the Parrish Museum, the Southampton History Museum, and most frequently at the Rogers Memorial Library, where he suggested the purchase of a piano and planted the seed for what would become the library’s concert series. He also taught a legion of private piano students and was universally loved and admired by all whose musical education and love of music he encouraged, his survivors said.

In addition to Mr. Talisman, he is survived by two nieces, Phyllis Elliot and Mitzi Katz and their families.

A gathering of family and friends will be planned at a later date.

Donations in his memory may be made to Pianofest of the Hamptons at www.pianofest.org or mailed to Pianofest, PO 639, Hudson, Ohio 44236.