Constance Keene

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Constance Keene (February 9, 1921 - December 24, 2005) was an American pianist, who attracted great praise for her 1964 recording of Rachmaninov's Preludes, and other forays into the romantic repertoire.

She was born in Brooklyn, New York. One of her teachers was Abram Chasins. She won the Naumburg Piano Competition in 1943. In 1946, she stood in for Vladimir Horowitz when he was unavailable for a concert. She claimed she was the only female pianist to have ever been given this honour. In 1949 she married her former teacher Abram Chasins. He was also her duo-partner.

She later became a teacher herself. Her pupils included the children of Artur Rubinstein, who said he was "flabbergasted by the colour, sweep and imagination and ... incredible technique. I cannot imagine anybody, including Rachmaninov, playing the piano so beautifully".

After Chasins' death in 1987, Constance Keene married Milton Kean.

[edit] References

• "Telegraph" obituary (published in "The Age", 6 January 2006)