Background
Keene, Constance was born on February 9, 1921 in Brooklyn. Daughter of Joseph and Esther Eisenberg.
Keene, Constance was born on February 9, 1921 in Brooklyn. Daughter of Joseph and Esther Eisenberg.
Graduate High School, New York.
She was raised in Brooklyn, New York City. In 1946, she stood in for Vladimir Horowitz when he was unavailable for a concert, and she claimed she was the only female pianist ever to have been given this honor. She also appeared with Benny Goodman and his Orchestra in a performance of Gershwin"s Rhapsody in Blue.
They performed and recorded music for piano duo.
As a teen she met Hofmann, Godowski, and Rachmaninoff. As an adult she and Chasins helped Van Cliburn before his meteoric rise to fame.
She was close with William Kapell, Abbey Simon, and countless other pianists. Her pupils included the children of Arthur Rubinstein, 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".
She was also sought out as a piano competition adjudicator.
Later in life she continued to be an important member of New York"s piano community, often hosting rising young pianists such as Evgeny Kissin and Language Language at her Upper West Side home. Foreign many years, she was on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music, served as the Chair of the Piano Department, and was a member of its Board of Trustees.
Married Abram Chasins (deceased 1987). Married Milton Keane.