Bertha Kestenbaum; Pianist, Teacher, Composer

Bertha Kestenbaum, 85, pianist, teacher and composer who worked with such dancers as Gene Kelly. Trained at the Juilliard School of Music, Kestenbaum taught early childhood music classes in New York and later gave private lessons in Los Angeles. In addition to accompanying professional dancers, Kestenbaum was a concert pianist who often performed in Schoenberg Hall at UCLA. A Times reviewer writing about a 1959 concert described Kestenbaum as “a pianist of lyrical disposition” who played “with capability and devoted musicianship.” Kestenbaum also presented recitals at Arizona State University in Tempe. On Tuesday in Los Angeles.