Keene, Constance

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Keene, Constance

Keene, Constance, American pianist and pedagogue; b. N.Y., Feb. 9, 1921. She studied with Abram Chasins (1938–49), whom she married in 1949 and with whom she subsequently performed. She was an early teacher of Arthur Rubinstein’s children, and also taught at the Mannes School of Music in N.Y., numbering among her students Minoru Nojima, Peter Nero, and David Bar-Ulan. Her 1964 recordings of the preludes of Rachmaninoff were critically acclaimed. As a soloist, she appeared with major orchs. in the U.S. and abroad. She also gave master classes.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire