The prominent pianist Russell Sherman was identified with the music of Beethoven, Liszt, and contemporary composers. At 15, Sherman he made his debut at New York's Town Hall with the New York Philharmonic under conductor Leonard Bernstein. His digital recording debut came in 1984, performing sonatas by Beethoven. He often championed the music of Liszt, and he frequently played contemporary music by the likes of George Perle and Ralph Shapey, as well as Debussy and Schoenberg. Sherman published a book of essays, Piano Pieces, on piano performance, and he was an avid photographer, follower of scientific literature, and baseball fan. Sherman remained active into old age, releasing an album of Chopin Mazurkas in 2012. He died in Lexington, Massachusetts, on September 30, 2023.