“A Rare Bird, Miss Schein”

“Women pianists of the first rank are rare birds at any time. That Ann Schein is among the select few was already clear from her first Brighton appearance two years ago, and last night she came back to provide convincing evidence that first impressions CAN be trusted. To Rachmaninoff’s Second Concerto in c minor, that evergreen romantic showpiece, she brought depth of feeling, total commitment and superlative technique. Herbert Menges and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra obviously relishing their partnership with an artist of such powers, joined her in a performance…generating an excitement and tension quite out of the ordinary. Right from the opening theme, marked ‘con passione’, Miss Schein brought out the somber intensity of the music’s billowing melodies. The Adagio’s wistful tenderness never lapsed into flaccid passivity and the finale’s playfulness was charmingly animated. The orchestra and Mr. Menges were warmed by the fire of such playing.”

“High Summer at the Proms”

“It was high summer at the Proms last night…What a regiment of teenagers come to these concerts! From the massed audience there was a tumult of applause for the American pianist Ann Schein, for her accomplished playing in Grieg’s Piano Concerto. Exactly 100 years old, it is still one of the assured favorites.”

“Pianist Ann Schein gives an Electrifying Performance”

“Pianist Ann Schein has a surname which, in sound, is absolutely right for her musical stature. She is a star, destined ‘far to outshine the less mortality’ of those who fondly imagine they can play the piano. For those who knew little or nothing about the 28 year old American before she appeared at the Dome on Sunday…her magnificent performance of Rachmaninoff’s Third Concerto…must have come as a stunning revelation. It was an electrifying occasion, one which brooks little or no comparison with any previous interpretation, even the much vaunted one by Van Cliburn at Carnegie Hall in 1958. We were privileged to hear heights of artistry which brought one to the breathless fringe of tears. In face of the sublimated orchestra, the artist’s apparent humility, the bedlam of applause, one was strongly reminded of the truth inherent in one line from Milton’s great sonnet on his blindness – ‘That one talent which is death to hide.’”

“Pianist with a sense of poetry”

“Ann Schein, the 28 year old American pianist, was given a tremendous reception at the…Blackburn Music Society’s Prom concerts on Saturday night. Thunderous applause from the big audience…brought her back four times after her performance of Rachmaninoff’s Third Concerto…Miss Schein is a pianistic descendant of Leschetitsky…with a rare combination of great technical precision, consistently good tone and sense of poetry. The program notes mention that she was a pupil of Mieczyslaw Munz, whose old piano roll recordings have recently been revived on a disc in the “Golden Age of Piano Virtuosi” series. Miss Schein is herself a virtuoso in the best sense – a musician first and a pianist second, the formidable technique not an end in itself but only the means of portraying deep feeling. Few better pianists have been heard in King George’s Hall.”

“Pianist given great ovation”

“For those who were fortunate enough to hear the performance of the Piano Concerto No. 3 in d minor by Rachmaninoff broadcast from the London “Proms” the week previous when Ann Schein was the soloist – a performance which was given impressive notices in the London press – must have been surprised when she made her appearance on the stage (here) in Blackburn. Miss Schein is physically small but she radiates vitality… Her performance belied her appearance for this was an occasion when all this great orchestra could produce was matched in power and tone by Miss Schein… the d minor concerto has many long-phrased tunes which (she) demonstrated with great…skill…Miss Schein was recalled four times, the audience showing in no uncertain way what must be classed as a most remarkable performance.”

August, 1967, Blackburn, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

“Miss Schein, 21 put the orchestra in the shade!”

“Ann Schein, aged 21, is a remarkable young woman! I had always assumed that only a Horowitz, or some other steel-fingered virtuoso, had the technique for Rachmaninoff’s Third Concerto. But Miss Schein proved me very wrong with a marvelously alert, controlled, unaffected performance, showing little strain and a lot of sympathy for the music.”