04/19/2026
So sad to learn of the death of this great American pianist. Ms. Schein performed a memorable concert for CMA in 2010. She was preceded in death by her husband Earl Carlyss, violinist of the Juilliard Quartet, by only four months. The appreciation linked below is one of many that have appeared in the past few days.
News reached the music world yesterday that American pianist Ann Schein passed away on April 14, aged 86. She was a pupil of Mieczysław Münz from a young age, later coaching as well with Arthur Rubinstein and Myra Hess, and she was a formidable presence both as a performer and a teacher, embodying a seamless blend of poise, grace, and strength throughout her long career.
I had only just received last week the audio of her debut album on the Kapp label, for whom she recorded five LPs. She was not yet 18 when she walked into the studio on April 24, 1958 to set down 17 etudes by 7 composers (10 of them by Chopin). The playing is absolutely ravishing: pianistically refined and musically intelligent and expressive. I have uploaded that disc and shared a link in the comments.
Perhaps her most famous recording - she did not produce a volume commensurate with her artistry - was her first concerto disc of Rachmaninoff's Third Concerto, which she set down on December 29-30, 1959 with Sir Eugene Goossens leading the Vienna State Opera Orchestra. Schein had started playing this work in her mid-teens in 1954 at Münz's suggestion: he expected her to use it to develop stamina and technique rather than to play in concert. However, she was engaged to perform the concerto two years later, and Münz helped prepare her and attended the concert; during the cadenza there was a loud crack that came from the audience - Münz had been so tense that his chair had snapped in half! The event was a resounding success and the concerto became one of Schein's calling cards.
At a dinner party hosted by the widow of Artur Rodzinski, the Kapp LP of Schein’s recording was played to Arthur Rubinstein (whose wife Nela had left Münz to marry Rubinstein - a long story I recount in my tribute page to Münz). At first he resisted - “I don’t want to hear another prodigy, take it off!" - but once he heard the first notes of Schein’s playing, Rubinstein insisted on silence from the 40-odd other guests so he (and everyone else) could listen more attentively. He arranged a meeting with Schein together with Münz (the first time the two Polish pianists had met since Nela had left one for the other), and a cordial agreement was reached for him to coach her over the following two years.
Linked in the comments thread is this terrific recording that captured Rubinstein's attention so profoundly. Schein plays throughout with a wonderful tonal palette, beautifully sculpted lines, natural timing, and marvellous dynamic shadings.
I've also added to this post a previously unpublished recording that the pianist herself had not remembered: a 1963 direct-to-disc performance of Beethoven's Eroica Variations, made available by collector Brad Brackin, to whom all thanks.
Münz had predicted "a long life in music" for her and he was right indeed. I regret that I never met her, but she was exceedingly gracious in our email exchanges when I featured some of her recordings on this page and also when I wrote my detailed tribute to her beloved mentor Münz. RIP Ms. Schein.
