Seymour Bernstein, an acclaimed concert pianist, who later turned to teaching, his true calling, he said, died on April 30 in Damariscotta, Maine. He was 99.

In spite of rave reviews of his public performances, Mr. Bernstein was never comfortable in the limelight. “I hated the commercial aspect,” he said. “I hated the nerves.”

In the early 1950s, during the Korean War, Mr. Bernstein was drafted into the Army. Sent to Korea in the same unit as the violinist Kenneth Gordon, who later joined the New York Philharmonic, Mr. Bernstein asked their lieutenant if they could perform for the unit. They were informed that soldiers don’t like classical music, Mr. Bernstein later told the Korean War Legacy Foundation. Undeterred, he borrowed a Yamaha piano from a local music school. He and Mr. Gordon gave several concerts a day for American and international troops, and the soldiers were often in tears by the end, he said. On one occasion, shells flew overhead while he was performing a Chopin polonaise.

Mr. Bernstein continued offering private lessons and master classes, and playing the piano into his 90s. “For me, life is beginning at 90,” he said. “I’m learning to play the piano properly.”