The cellist Ian Maksin first became well-known to South Florida audiences as the original cellist of the Delray String Quartet and principal cellist of the New World Symphony and Atlantic Classical Orchestra before he left the area for Chicago and new opportunities. The Russian-born Maksin returned Sunday afternoon for a recital with his duo partner, the Bulgarian pianist Ani … [Read more...]
Late review: In Grieg sonatas, Joshua Bell finds riches
The splendid American violinist Joshua Bell has been making something of a study of the three sonatas of Edvard Grieg in his regular recital tours. Although the Third Sonata is the most well-known of the three, he was very excited about the Sonata No. 2 when he took it out on a tour a few years back, as he told me during an interview at the time; he said in some ways he liked … [Read more...]
Broadway’s Brian Stokes Mitchell does Jupiter
A decade ago, Tony Award-winning performer Brian Stokes Mitchell was asked to help out The Actors Fund, the national social service provider to theater professionals. Fast forward ten years and now he is chairman of the fund’s board of directors. So he is busy raising money for the fund with a series of five benefit concerts at major regional theaters across the nation. That … [Read more...]
Mother and son bring independent sensibilities to Delray pottery shop
By Lucy Lazarony Stop by Cloud House Pottery in Artists Alley in Delray Beach and you’ll find Ian Levinson and his mother Ellen “Starr” Levinson creating pots and paintings and sculptures. Ian, 46, has been a ceramic artist for 32 years. On his potter’s wheel, he creates functional pieces such as bowls, cups and mugs and one-of-a-kind art pieces. In her studio, Ellen paints … [Read more...]
Music roundup: A fine young violist, two admirable quartets
Peijun Xu (Feb. 10, Steinway Gallery, Boca Raton) If the concertgoing world doesn’t fully appreciate the variety that a viola can bring to a recital, that won’t be the fault of Peijun Xu. The Shanghai-born musician performed two local recitals this week for the Kronberg Academy, an organization based in that German town near Frankfurt (the city that Xu now calls home) that … [Read more...]