Constance Keene (9 February 192124 December 2005) was an American pianist, who was renowned for her 1964 recording of

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...

's Preludes and won critical acclaim for her recordings of the works of

Johann Nepomuk Hummel Johann Nepomuk Hummel (14 November 177817 October 1837) was an Austrian composer and pianist. His music reflects the transition from the Classical to the Romantic musical era. He was a pupil of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Antonio Salieri, and ...

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (5 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and Music criticism, critic in the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Best known for List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, h ...

and

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...

, as well as Rachmaninoff's ''Études-Tableaux'', Op. 33 and ''Études-Tableaux'', Op. 39. She was raised in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. One of her teachers was

Abram Chasins Abram Chasins (August 17, 1903 – June 21, 1987) was an American composer, pianist, piano teacher, lecturer, musicologist, music broadcaster, radio executive and author. Biography Born in Manhattan, New York, he attended the Ethical Cultu ...

. She won the Naumburg Piano Competition in 1943. In 1946, she stood in for

Vladimir Horowitz Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz (November 5, 1989) was a Russian and American pianist. Considered one of the greatest pianists of all time, he was known for his virtuoso technique, timbre, and the public excitement engendered by his playing. Life ...

when he was unavailable for a concert, and she asserted that she was the only female pianist ever to have been given this honor. She also appeared with

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader, known as the "King of Swing". His orchestra did well commercially. From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing bi ...

and his orchestra in a performance of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. In 1949 she married Chasins, who died in 1987. They performed and recorded music for piano duo. Through her husband, who had himself studied with pianist

Josef Hofmann Josef Casimir Hofmann (originally Józef Kazimierz Hofmann; January 20, 1876February 16, 1957) was a Polish-American pianist, composer, music teacher, and inventor. Biography Josef Hofmann was born in Podgórze (a district of Kraków), in Aus ...

, she met other concert pianists, including Vladimir Horowitz. She and Chasins regularly socialized and played bridge with Horowitz and his wife Wanda Toscanini Horowitz during Horowitz's 12-year retirement from the concert stage. As a teen she met Hofmann, Godowsky, and Rachmaninoff; as an adult she and Chasins helped

Van Cliburn Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. (July 12, 1934February 27, 2013) was an American pianist. At the age of 23, Cliburn achieved worldwide recognition when he won the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958 during the Cold ...

before his rise to fame. She was close to

William Kapell Oscar William Kapell (September 20, 1922 – October 29, 1953) was an American classical pianist. ''The Washington Post'' described him as "America's first great pianist", while ''The New York Times'' described him as "one of the last century's ...

Abbey Simon Abbey Henry Simon (January 8, 1920 – December 18, 2019) was an American concert pianist, teacher, and recording artist. He was a protégé of Josef Hofmann at the Curtis Institute of Music and a winner of the Naumburg International Piano C ...

, and other pianists. Later in life she often hosted rising young pianists such as

Evgeny Kissin Evgeny Igorevich Kissin (, ; born 10 October 1971) is a Russian-born concert pianist and composer. He became a British citizen in 2002 and an Israeli citizen in 2013. He first came to international fame as a child prodigy. He has a wide reperto ...

and

Lang Lang Lang Lang (; born 14 June 1982) is a Chinese pianist who has performed with major orchestras around the world and appeared at many leading concert halls. Active since the 1990s, he was the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Phi ...

at her Upper West Side home. She later became an accomplished teacher herself. Her pupils included the children of

Arthur Rubinstein Arthur Rubinstein Order of the British Empire, KBE OMRI (; 28 January 1887 – 20 December 1982) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American pianist.

, who said of her performances of Rachmaninoff's Preludes that he was "flabbergasted by the colour, sweep and imagination and ... incredible technique. I cannot imagine anybody, including Rachmaninoff, playing the piano so beautifully". Pianist

Peter Nero Peter Nero (born Bernard Nierow; May 22, 1934 – July 6, 2023) was an American pianist and pops conductor. He directed the Philly Pops from 1979 to 2013, and earned two Grammy Awards, including the award for Best New Artist in 1962, as well ...

was one of Constance's pupils as a young man. Despite being a prodigy and winning piano contests in the New York City area, when he started studying with her, Mr. Nero claimed, "She changed my whole life" in regards to piano technique. "I owe it all to Constance", he claimed in later life. Composer

B. J. Rosco B. Jeanie Groh Stoner Bumpus (born 27 November 1932) is an American composer, pianist, and teacher who publishes under the name B. J. Rosco. Rosco was born in Wilbur, Washington. She studied piano and composition at the Juilliard School, the Univ ...

, among others, also studied with Keene. For many years, she was on the faculty of the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...

, served as the chair of the Piano Department, and was a member of its board of trustees. She was also sought out as a piano competition adjudicator.

Notes

External links

Constance Keene at World Concert Artist Directory

1921 births 2005 deaths American women classical pianists Classical piano duos Musicians from Brooklyn Manhattan School of Music faculty American piano educators 20th-century American classical pianists 20th-century American women pianists Classical musicians from New York (state) American women music educators American women academics 21st-century American women Jewish classical pianists {{US-classical-pianist-stub