Pianist Donald Berman absorbed the music of Charles Ives and Carl Ruggles from a teacher who championed those composers early and knew their works exhaustively. A leading specialist in the music of the 20th and 21st centuries, Berman is also active as an educator and as a vocal accompanist. Berman has concertized around the U.S., Europe, and Israel and has been in special demand for master classes in all these places. His recitals often strive to link classical and modern repertory. Berman has been especially widely recognized for the albums The Unknown Ives (1999), The Unknown Ives, Vol. 2 (2004), and The Uncovered Ruggles (2005), all of which contained newly uncovered works by their respective composers. Berman returned in 2023, backing soprano Susan Narucki on This Island.