At three Beth Levin fell in love with her first piano, an old Lester upright in the basement. She would go down for hours and create a little world for herself. Made her debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra at age 12, and performed with them again at 16. (Her teacher was the great Chopin interpreter, Maryan Filar.) On her first day as a pupil of Rudolf Serkin at the Curtis Institute, she roamed the halls of practice rooms wondering how anyone could practice for six hours. Her best moments have been as soloist with orchestras in Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Seattle, touring in Music From Marlboro and with chamber groups she has founded, most recently the American Arts Trio. She writes: “I live with my family in Brooklyn. I very much wanted children and was eager for the challenge of balancing a musical life with a home life. One of my favorite tasks is to pop a lasagna into the oven while doing some intense practicing, thereby fulfilling two roles at once — mother and musician.”