At just 15 years old, Maxim Lando, the product of Great Neck Music Conservatory owners pianist Pippa Borisy and clarinetist Vadim Lando, is certainly making his parents proud. He recently performed at the Gala Opening Night Concert at Carnegie Hall with Lang Lang and Chick Corea.
While on his way to China to perform for the 10th anniversary of the National Center for Performing Arts in Beijing, Lando explained how he has achieved so much at such a young age.
“I started fooling around on the piano at 3 1/2, said Lando. “I guess I’ve always loved music, whether it’s listening or playing, it’s just always been a part of my life.”
The fact that his parents own the local music school certainly helped immerse him. Lando grew up surrounded by music and inspired to play piano—whether it was by his parents, teachers or fellow students.
He dabbled in violin when he was younger, before settling on piano as his true passion. He is so dedicated to his craft that he attends an online school, in which he is a sophomore and enjoys world literature and science.
Lando has also performed with the Russian National Orchestra, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Kazakh State Philharmonic and will make debut performances with the Toronto Symphony and Israel Philharmonic Orchestra early this year. One place where he hasn’t yet performed that he’s eager to visit is New Zealand.
“I’ll take pretty much any opportunity that will take me there,” admitted the performer.
When traveling around the world to play alongside his idols, he’s accompanied by his parents or grandparents since he is still a teenager. After he finishes high school, Lando wants to continue his music studies at a college or university, and keep performing as much as possible.
If he wasn’t a musician, he would love to be a food critic and could also imagine “being a teacher of some sort, working with kids to [help them] grow and learn.”
Though he’s so busy with his flourishing music career, Lando does find time to spend with friends. He explained that he has known many from the Juilliard precollege program and his parents’ music school for years, and they are all very supportive of each other’s endeavors.
When the budding artists aren’t practicing or performing, Lando recruits them to take extreme nine-hour treks—on foot—across Long Island from Great Neck to Jones Beach, though he made sure to note that few of his peers can endure the entire journey.
Lando offers some advice for aspiring young musicians, “Be creative, follow your passions, work hard and don’t let anyone else tell you what you are capable of doing.”
Learn more at www.maximlando.com, which has views from around the globe.
