Tag Archives: Igor Pikayzen

Roundup: Gloria, StoryFest, Downtown Parking …

Posted on May 17, 2024 | 2 comments

Gloria is gone.

The oyster boat — lovingly cared for by Alan Sterling during his long life, then a Gray’s Creek icon for years after the oysterman’s death, before falling victim to weather and age — was dismantled and removed yesterday.

It had been cast up on land during a very high tide a few months ago.

Nothing remains of Gloria today.

Except many, many memories.

Sic transit gloria mundi.

Gloria, in better days. (Photo/Betsy P. Kahn)

Gloria, after being washed ashore. (Photo/Larry Hoy)

The final journey, in a flatbed truck. (Photo/Larry Hoy)

==================================================

A celebration of Leonard Everett Fisher’s life is set for June 24 (3 to 6 p.m., Westport Library).

The date is special. It would have been the noted illustrator/artist, longtime civic volunteer and proud World War II veteran’s 100th birthday.

Donations in his and his wife’s name can be made to “Margery & Leonard Everett Fisher Endowment for Children’s Books in the Arts,” c/o Westport Library, 20 Jesup Road, Westport, CT 06880.

Leonard Everett Fisher (Photo/Ted Horowitz)

================================================

From its start as “Saugatuck StoryFest,” the Westport Library’s annual literary festival has grown rapidly.

It’s now the largest annual such even in Connecticut, and one of the biggest in the Northeast.

The 7th edition — set for Friday, September 20 through Sunday, September 22 — will be the most genre-spanning of all.

Headliners include author/essayist/editor Roxane Gay (Bad Feminist, Difficult Women), best-selling writer Christopher Golden (Hellboy, The House of Last Resort), and award-winning author Claire Messud (The Emperor’s Children, This Strange Eventful History).

This year’s StoryFest features a special tribute to the Publishers Weekly editor (and Westport Library friend) Sybil Steinberg, who died earlier this year, and a PitchFest workshop.

Other authors scheduled to appear are Kerstin Bakis, Julia Bartz, Clay Chapman, May Cobb, Rachel Harrison, Isi Hendrix, Don P. Hooper, Gabino Iglesias, Hal Johnson, Chris Knapp, Ryan La Sala, Josh Malerman, GennaRose Nethercott, Anna Noyes, Courtney Preiss, Oliver Radclyffe, Ainissa Ramirez, Shannon C.F. Rogers, Hugh Ryan, Peng Shepherd, and Diana Sussman.

Jennifer Baker will conduct a live recording of her podcast, Minorities in Publishing, while editor Ellen Datlow returns to the Library’s Trefz Forum for a panel discussion with authors from her latest anthology.

Additional attendees will be announced throughout the summer.

Click here for tickets, and more information.

StoryFest headliners (from left): Claire Messud, Roxane Gay, Christopher Golden.

==================================================

Looking for a place to park downtown?

“06880” can’t get you an exact spot. But we can point you in the right direction.

So can signs like these:

(Photo/Dan Woog)

Clicking on the QR code brings up the Discover Westport page, with maps and statistics on 20 downtown parking lots.

Some — like the Senior Center — might be off most people’s radars. But there’s plenty of good information.

And the drone photos are pretty cool.

PS: If you don’t want to bother with the QR code, just click here.

Taylor Place parking lot, by Jesup Green.

==================================================

The line of march is set, for the Memorial Day parade (Monday, May 27, 9 a.m.).

Westporters know this is a community highlight of the year. If you’ve never been: Don’t miss it. Find a spot along the route — from Saugatuck Avenue on Riverside Avenue, right on the Post Road, left on Myrtle Avenue — and enjoy the music of marching bands, the fun of tons of kids, the spirit of civic groups, and a salute to first responders and (of course) our veterans.

Be sure to stick around for the half-hour ceremony on Veterans Green, opposite Town Hall. It’s meaningful and important. The speeches are brief, but the service is inspiring.

The parade includes:

Connecticut Alumni Drum & Bugle Corps
Westport Police Department
Westport Volunteer EMS
Westport-Weston CERT
Grand Marshal Charles P. Lamb

Dignitaries: Selectwomen, RTM members
Westport Community Band
Connecticut Veterans Honor Guard
August Matthias Post 63 – American Legion & Joseph J. Clinton Post 399 – Veterans of Foreign Wars, with VFW Auxiliary 399 Westport Float
Scouts BSA Westport

Nash Drum Corps
Westport Fire Department
Y’s Men of Westport/Weston
League of Women Voters
Staples High School Marching Band
Staples High School Cheerleaders
Westport Library
Girl Scouts of Westport
Westport PAL
Westport Soccer
Westport Little League
Coleytown/Bedford Combined Middle School Bands
Westport Woman’s Club
St. Paul Christian School

CLUB203
My Team Triumph
Knights of Columbus – Westport
Westport Rotary Club
Suzuki Music School
Westport Pride
United Methodist Church of Westport-Weston
Builders Beyond Boarders
Westport Garden Club
Westport Sunrise Rotary
Westport Transit District
Col. John Chester Fife & Drum Corps
Westport Weston Family YMCA
Masonic Lodge
Junior Colonial Fife & Drum Corps of Westbrook, CT

A small part of the 2023 Memorial Day parade (Photo/Charlie Scott)

==================================================

Igor Pikayzen — Westport’s favorite home-grown violinist — brings his Festival Edelio back to his hometown.

This summer’s 2 concerts have something for everyone: the defiance of Shostakovich, charm of Saint-Saëns, joy of Gershwin, beauty of Brahms and more.

Several talented artists will join the 2005 Staples High School graduate (who went on to Juilliard, then earned a master’s degree from Yale, and a doctor of musical arts at CUNY).

Concerts are June 9 and 16 (7 p.m., Saugatuck Congregational Church). There is a wine reception after each. Click here for more information, and tickets.

Igor Pikayzen

===============================================

Judge Frederick Freedman died peacefully at his Westport home on Wednesday. He was 95. .

Born in Bridgeport, he moved with his parents to London for several years, but they returned to the US just before World War II. He Freedman graduated from Bassick High School, and earned a BA from the University of Connecticut, then a law degree from Yale in 1954.

He was a first lieutenant in the Air Force JAG during the Vietnam War.

He practiced law with Brody and Brody, P.C. until 1981 when Governor O’Neill appointed him to the Connecticut Superior Court bench.

In 1992 Judge Freedman was appointed to the Connecticut Appellate Court by Governor Lowell Weicker. He served as chief administrative judge, senior judge judge trial referee.

He retired from the bench in 2012, after 30 years. He then became counsel at Halloran & Sage’s Westport office.

He loved spending time with his family, traveling, good food, reading, playing golf, dogs, and a great joke.

His family says, “Judge Freedman was an honorable, impeccable man, honest, loyal, fair, with a sweet, tender, gentle disposition, and a brilliant mind. He was known for his exceptional sense of humor and his dignity, his fastidious attention to detail, and his wonderful taste in clothes.”

Judge Freedman is survived by his wife of 68 years, Dorothy (née Nevas) of Westport; his children Janet Freedman of Westport; Susan (Rev. Dr. Mark L. Heilshorn) Filan of Newtown, and Ellen (Steven) Nevas Freedman Wilner of New York City, and grandchildren, Eric (Dayane) Zimmerman, Mee Mee and Hallie Filan of Newtown, and Samantha and Kasey Wilner of New York City; brother-in-law and sister-in-law Hon. Alan H. and Janet Nevas of Westport, and nieces and nephews Andrew (Jodie) Nevas, Dr. Debra (Dr. Jonathan Abrams) Nevas and, and Nathaniel (Leslie Radel) Nevas.

Funeral services will be held on Tuesday (May 21, 9:30 a.m., Temple Israel). Burial will follow at Independent Hebrew Cemetery in Norwalk. For more information and to share a condolence message, click here.

Memorial contributions may be made to Yale Law School Fund, Financial Aid/Career Options Assistance Program.

Judge Frederick Freedman

==============================================

Have you ever heard of a lesser yellowlegs?

I hadn’t.

Whether you’re a birder or not, Paul Delano’s submission for today’s “Westport … Naturally” feature shows us all its fragile beauty.

(Photo/Paul Delano)

==================================================

And finally … on this day in 1971, “Godspell” opened at New York’s Cherry Lane Theatre. It became the third-longest-running off-Broadway production of its day.

(Day by day, “06880” brings you news, events and more — all Westport, 24/7/365. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)

2 Comments

Posted in Arts, Beach, Downtown, Environment, Library, Obituaries

Tagged , , , , , ,

Roundup: Fine Arts Festival, Ospreys, Dementia …

Posted on May 29, 2023 | 1 comment

The 50th annual Fine Arts Festival ended yesterday just as it began Saturday: with huge crowds, a great variety of excellent art, plenty of music and food, and tons of smiles.

The Westport Downtown Association drew raves for the organization, execution and energy of what many called the “best ever” of all 50 shows.

The family-friendly event included a children’s art project, sponsored by the Artists Collective of Westport. Youngsters drew a huge whale in chalk, near Bedford Square.

It was part of Westport artist Jana Ireijo’s “Vanishing Mural” project. It looked great. But it will eventually disappear — emphasizing the fragility of the natural world.

The not-yet-completed, but eventually vanishing, whale. (Photo/Dan Woog)

The Fine Arts Festival was pet-friendly too — for real dogs, and artistic ones.

(Photo/Ted Horowitz)

==================================================

Yesterday, as Carolyn Doan does what she often does — checking on the Fresh Market ospreys — a concerned woman in the parking lot said she had not seen them in a couple of weeks. She worried they were no longer there.

Carolyn reports, happily, that all is well. Both adults were in the nest, doing fine.

“They are probably taking care of hatching eggs or very young chicks now,” she says.

“When they sit on the eggs, it’s very hard to see them. Thank you to the nice lady who asked about them!”

And thank you, Carolyn, for sending along this photo:

(Photo/Carolyn Doan)

==================================================

Of all the difficult traffic merges in town, one of the worst is heading west on Coleytown Road, where it runs into Lyons Plains Road.

You stop, crane your neck, and hope for the best. Not only can’t you see to the right — but oncoming traffic does not stop, in either direction.

Some drivers may not be aware of that last fact.

Fortunately, a new addition to the stop sign lets you know.

It won’t help you see. But in this case at least, a little knowledge is not a dangerous thing.

(Photo and hat tip: Stacy Prince)

==================================================

The League of Women Voters of Westport’s annual meeting and lunch is Wednesday, June 7 (11:30 a.m., Green’s Farms Congregational Church).

The public is invited — and welcome to stay for a very timely panel.

The topic: “Building Consensus in Today’s Political Climate.” Panelists include  Jim Marpe, former Westport first selectman; Ken Bernhard, former Connecticut state representative, and Dr. Nora Madjar, associate professor of management at the University of Connecticut School of Business.

The lunch (cheese platter, sliced beef tenderloin, poached salmon, 4 salads, dessert) is $50 per person. RSVP to celestelacroix@hotmail.com, or send checks to LWV Westport, PO Box 285, Westport, CT 06881.

==================================================

Homes with Hope brought back its famed “Gather ‘Round the Table” fundraiser, for Project Return at Susie’s House.

Among the 240 guests at the Shorehaven Golf Club luncheon were the keynote speaker,  Connecticut Commissioner of Housing Seila Mosquera-Bruno; Westport 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker, and the many town employees who work hard behind the scenes to support the home and program.

Plans have been approved for renovations, to better accommodate homeless women in Fairfield County. The program offers long-term housing in a nurturing, home-like environment.

From left: Lena Holleran, Connecticut Department of Housing; Homes With Hope program director Paris Looney; Seila Mosquero Bruno, Connecticut Commissioner of Housing; executive director Helen McAlinden;; Carmen Ayala of Homes with Hope, at the “Gather ‘Round the Table” fundraiser.

===================================================

Looking for “The Complete Family Guide to Dementia”?

Thomas Harrison and Dr. Brent Forester — authors of a book by the same name — will be at The Residence at Westport on June 19 (4 p.m.), talking about that subject.

A limited number of complimentary books are available. To RSVP, email ddunning@residencewestport.com, or call 203-349-2002.

==============================================

Before he graduated in 2005, Igor Pikayzen was already one of the most talented violinists in Staples High School’s long musical history.

After Juilliard, a master’s degree and artist’s diploma from Yale University, a doctorate in musical arts at CUNY and solo appearances with major orchestras at Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York, Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow and more, he founded Festivo Edalio.

The opening concert June 11 (7:30 p.m., Saugatuck Congregational Church) celebrates the joy of sharing live music.

Pikayzen will play Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons.” As the violinist says, “‘Edelio’ means ‘forever young.’ This masterpiece remains beloved 300 years after it was composed.”

The program also includes the “Estaciones Porteñas” of Argentine legend Astor Piazzolla.

Edelio continues at the Pequot Library June 14 (7 p.m.). The return to chamber music features Mozart’s impeccable piano quartet in G minor, the rarely played edgy and tumultuous first Shostakovich trio, and the triumphant Dvorak piano quartet.

Click here for tickets, and more information.

Igor Pikayzen

================================================

Most “Westport … Naturally” photos are completely natural.

Today’s, from Hillandale Road, shows a man-made assist to Mother Nature.

Come to think of it, the hedge and stone wall look a bit unnatural too.

(Photo/Bob Weingarten)

==================================================

And finally … on this (and every) Memorial Day, we salute all the men and women who served in our armed forces. And we remember the far too many, who gave their lives so that we can be here today, living ours.

(“06880” is honored to bring you news and information about Westport, on this holiday and every day. Please consider a contribution to help us continue. Click here — and thank you.) 

1 Comment

Posted in Arts, Downtown, Environment, Politics, Transportation

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

“Sounds For A Starry Night” Set

Posted on November 26, 2019 | 1 comment

“The arts” is a broad term. Westport embraces various forms — music, visual arts, poetry — in various ways.

On Friday, December 6, a variety of disciplines come together. A pair of internationally acclaimed musicians — both Westporters — join a visual artist and the town’s poet laureate. It’s a night of classical music, poetry and vocals — and a benefit for Staples High School students needing help with college costs.

“Sounds for a Starry Night” stars violinist Igor Pikayzen and his mother, pianist Tatyana Pikayzen.

Igor Pikayzen

Igor — a Russian native — made his concert debut with the Moscow Philharmonic at age 8. Now — a graduate of Staples High School, Juilliard and Yale — he has performed with major orchestras around the world, and won numerous competitions.

Igor received a Westport Arts Advisory Committee Horizon Award, as an outstanding Westport artist under age 30 with an international reputation. Critics note his astounding technical ability and majestically lush tone.

His mother — called “the Paganini of the keyboard” — has earned acclaim on 3 continents. A top prize winner at the Chopin International Competition in Warsaw, she has soloed in the world’s most prestigious concert halls.

Cellist Michael Katz completes the distinguished chamber ensemble. Casey Rose Clark will perform a vocal interlude. Noted illustrator Miggs Burroughs and Westport poet laureate Diane Meyer Lowman will speak too.

All artists will be on hand for a post-concert reception.

It’s a benefit for the Westport Woman’s Club scholarship program. Grants are awarded, on a financial need basis, to graduating Staples High School seniors.

The salon-style concert and reception take place at the Westport Woman’s Club. Seating is limited. For tickets ($50 adults, $25 students), click here.

1 Comment

Posted in Arts, Organizations, People, Staples HS

Tagged , ,

Alexander Platt: An “Itinerant Music Pastor” Comes Home

Posted on July 31, 2017 | 1 comment

Ten years ago — when the Westport Arts Center asked Alexander Platt to head its Concert Series — the timing was not right.

The 1983 Staples High School graduate was in the midst of a long career leading orchestras and an opera company in Chicago, North Dakota and Florida — plus a summer “Maverick Concerts” music festival in Woodstock, New York.

His twin brother Russell got the job instead.

Now it’s Alexander’s turn.

Alexander Platt conducts the Minnesota Philharmonic.

For professional and personal reasons — including feeling like “an itinerant pastor,” and the death of his mother (his father still lives in Westport) — Platt has returned home.

“It’s time to be intensive, rather than extensive,” the new Concert Series curator says.

“It’s wonderful to conduct orchestras. But it’s equally pleasurable to run them as a sherpa or guide.”

The chance to put a full season together — to “shape it, host it, bridge it with the community” — proved irresistible.

The Yale and King’s College Cambridge graduate is excited about the 2017-18 series. The WAC wanted classical music, jazz and “something in between.” Platt delivers it all.

Igor Pikayzen

From the opening on September 23 (cutting-edge pianist Anthony de Mare reimagines Stephen Sondheim), to internationally renowned violinist (and Westport resident) Igor Pikayzen, through the noted Juilliard String Quartet and the up-and-coming Calidotre String Quartet, ending with jazz and classical pianist Simon Mulligan, Platt has created 5 outstanding events.

“Even if you hate music, you’ll love these concerts,” he says. “They’re the best of the best. They bridge genres. I get in free, but I’d pay anything to hear them!”

Yet his work does not remain within the WAC’s walls.

Platt has begun building partnerships with “comrades in arms.” He’s reached out to Beechwood Arts & Innovation — his friendship and work relationship with Frederic Chiu and Jeanine Esposito goes back more than 20 years — and Suzuki Music School.

He’s also talking with the Westport and Pequot Libraries. Platt not only wants to eliminate date conflicts; he hopes each organization can cross-promote others’ events.

The Westport native remembers hearing “first-class music” every weekend, at venues ranging from Town Hall to the Unitarian Church.

“You didn’t have to go to New York or New Haven,” Platt notes. “I want to rebuild the audience for great music right here.”

He pauses.

“And there’s no place I’d rather be than Westport.”

1 Comment

Posted in Arts, Organizations, People

Tagged , , , ,

Igor Pikayzen’s Classical Dream

Posted on February 23, 2017 | 4 comments

Igor Pikayzen has not forgotten his roots.

Before he graduated in 2005, he was already one of the most talented violinists’ in Staples High School’s long and treasured musical history.

Pikayzen went on to Juilliard, then earned a master’s degree and artist’s diploma from Yale University. Now he’s completing his doctor of musical arts at the CUNY Graduate Center. He also teaches at Brooklyn Conservatory.

Igor Pikayzen

Igor Pikayzen, soon after graduating from Staples.

He’s appeared as a soloist with major orchestras across 4 continents. He has played at Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York, Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, Le Teatro Sant-Cugat in Barcelona and Cadogan Hall in London, to name a few.

Pikayzen’s live performances and recordings have been broadcast on WXQR WQXR, and around the globe. He’s won numerous competitions.

You get the idea: He’s one of the world’s great violinists.

But Pikayzen still holds Westport close to his heart. He returns when he can to teach master classes for Adele Valovich’s Staples orchestra.

Pikayzen loves classical music, and wants to pass along his passion to the next generation.

Now he’s one step closer to doing that.

Igor Pikayzen, ready to return to Westport.

Igor Pikayzen, ready to return to Westport.

Edelio — the name is Old Greek, meaning “eternally youthful — is an innovative music festival debuting in Westport this June.

Founded with the twin missions of performance and education, Edelio aims to bring bold programming — including not just classical repertoire, but jazz, crossover and contemporary — while inspiring future generations of music lovers and musicians.

Edelio promises Westporters the chance to enjoy worldwide premieres and Beethoven quartets — and to watch children collaborating with international artists.

Pikayzen’s project is starting from scratch. He plans 4 concerts for June.

“I play a lot of festivals, all over the world,” Pikayzen explains. “I’ve seen world musicians converge on small villages. There’s no reason we can’t have that in Westport.”

Edelio launches on Wednesday, March 1, at Steinway of Westport. Pikayzen will perform a wide-ranging program. Guests can learn about his dreams.

And hear world-class music, right here, from one of our own.

(For tickets and more information about the March 1 event, click here. To learn more about Edelio — including sponsorship — click here.)

 

4 Comments

Posted in Arts, Organizations, People, Staples HS

Tagged , ,

Beechwood Arts Concert Streams Into Your Home

Posted on December 11, 2016 | Comments Off on Beechwood Arts Concert Streams Into Your Home

Today — 2 weeks before Christmas — is a busy day for many of us.

We’ve got holiday parties to go to, trees to buy and trim, football games to watch. There aren’t enough hours in the day.

But if you can manage to be free for just an hour — starting at 5 p.m. — you won’t regret it.

Jeanine Esposito and Frederic Chiu, in their Weston Road home.

Jeanine Esposito and Frederic Chiu, in their Weston Road home.

Beechwood Arts and Innovation — the unique immersive salons sponsored by Frederic Chiu and Jeanine Esposito at their amazing Weston Road home — is staging another event.

But this time, on this cold day, you don’t have to leave the comfort of your home.

You don’t even have to live around here to attend.

All you need is Facebook.

The idea is to replace the “me” in social media with “we,” Chiu explains. “We hope to bring people together to inspire a sense of unity on a global scale.”

Igor Pikayzen

Igor Pikayzen

Today’s salon is a virtual one. Held on Facebook Live, it’s a stream of an actual salon to be held at the couple’s home (called Beechwood). Igor Pikayzen — a 2005 Staples High School graduate, 2007 Westport Arts Horizon winner, and internationally known violinist, will perform.

Fairfield neighbor Orin Grossman will play favorites from the Gershwin songbook on piano, and Brahms’ “Hungarian Dances” with Chiu.

Greg Wall — Westport’s unique “jazz rabbi” — will show off his rarely seen classical side.

“The goal is to create unity around the world, through the universal language of music,” Chiu says. “Facebook Live is the perfect platform, because it’s interactive.

beechwood-arts-logo“People can join us on their phone, computer, tablet or smart TV. They can communicate with each other using Facebook comments — emojis are fine!”

Hundreds of intimate gatherings of friends and families have already been planned (thanks to Facebook, of course). But individuals can join too. Everyone’s invited.

Today’s Beechwood salon is music at its finest — and most accessible.

That football game can wait.

(Click here to join the Beechwood Arts Salon Facebook Live event, or search Facebook for “Beechwood Arts and Innovation.”)

Greg Wall, the "jazz rabbi," plays classical music today.

Greg Wall, the “jazz rabbi,” plays classical music today.

 

Comments Off on Beechwood Arts Concert Streams Into Your Home

Posted in Arts, People, religion, technology

Tagged , , , , ,