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Members of Reading U3A remember Ruth as a brilliant pianist who ran a popular "Music Appreciation" Group in her home in Caversham, playing her beloved Steinway Grand piano. She conveyed her deep love and knowledge of music to other musicians and non-musicians in an erudite but easily-comprehended way.

She loved her adopted country of England; its people, its traditions, its lovely countryside. She enjoyed visiting village churches and when she could be persuaded to play Bach on their organ it was a wonderful experience to share!

Ruth wanted to give back through her musical skills to the country which gave her shelter when, in 1933, with the support of Einstein and the Rothschilds , she left Germany and her studies at Heidelberg University to live here, where she completed her music degree and became a pupil of Solomon.

She decided against the life of a solo performer and became a teacher in Berkshire, still performing locally, living in Newbury then in Caversham. She taught at Queen Anne's School and at Reading University and ran extra-mural classes for Oxford University and the WEA and latterly for U3A, an inspiring and much-loved teacher.

When Ruth died in 2010, at the venerable age of 97, she left a legacy to Reading U3A, to be used in the way we best saw fit.

We feel sure that she would approve of our decision to use part of it to help promising young musicians to develop their skills whilst experiencing the atmosphere of public performance. This we have done by establishing the Ruth Ascher Piano Masterclass Series.

To read about the 2020 Piano Masterclass, click here