Newport Beach Recital Series Kicks Off With Beethoven

Begin with one talented and ambitious pianist, Leonid Levitsky, as founder and artistic director. Add well-meaning friends as volunteer marketers. Throw in a few professional colleagues and mix with promising child talents and you have some idea of the format of the first concert of the Neptune Festival--a series of three summer concerts offered by the Newport Beach Recital Series this month.

Prefaced by a barbecue on the lawn at the Balboa Bay Club and adorned by Miss California USA and Miss Kansas USA, who were both on hand to greet audience members and sign autographs in honor of the 150th anniversary of California statehood, the Sunday evening program opened with three of Levitsky’s students, who demonstrated poise and fine training and were rewarded, on the spot, with scholarships.

After intermission, the series began in earnest when Michele Zukovsky, principal clarinetist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic; Timothy Landauer, principal cellist of the Pacific Symphony; and Levitsky finally took the limelight--which was apparently shining in their eyes instead of on their music. After a delay to adjust the lighting, they provided engaging performances of two works by Beethoven--Variations on Mozart’s “Bei Mannern, welche Liebe fuhlen” from “The Magic Flute,” in E-flat, for Piano and Cello and the Trio in B-flat for Piano, Clarinet and Cello, Opus 11.

In both pieces, the musicians interacted with graceful attentiveness, but in the trio, Zukovsky clearly led the way with exquisite detail and consummate ensemble playing.--SUSAN BLISS

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* The Neptune Festival continues through Aug. 14, Balboa Bay Club, 1221 W. Coast Highway, Newport Beach. $15. (949) 645-5000, Ext. 177.