Sunday, October 23rd 3:00 pm Main Lodge

The Lodge at Camp Long, West Seattle

Music and Mystery, A Unique Concert Experience

Gerald Elias, Baroque Violinist and Author
with Gus Denhard, Theorbo

Join acclaimed violinist and author, Gerald Elias, for an afternoon concert of rarely heard masterpieces by Antonio Vivaldi and Pietro Castrucci and a presentation of his Vivaldi-inspired mystery novels at the picturesque, rustic Lodge at Camp Long in West Seattle. Presented by Early Music Seattle, Elias will perform on a Baroque period violin, accompanied by noted theorbo player, August Denhard. Don’t miss Elias’s first Seattle public performance since relocating here in 2021, and hear why music historian Charles Burney called Castrucci’s sonatas “too mad for his own age.”

At the friendly and acoustically rich Main House at the Lodge at Camp Long, the Elias-Denhard duo will perform three virtuoso sonatas each by Vivaldi and Castrucci, the latter almost certainly be Seattle premieres even though they were composed in 1718! In fact, Centaur Records recently released the first complete recording ever of all 12 of Castrucci’s Opus 1 Sonatas, recorded by Elias, who is the music director of the popular Vivaldi by Candlelight chamber orchestra series in Salt Lake City and a former Boston Symphony violinist. In its glowing record review, the prestigious international journal, The Strad, takes note of “his accomplished premiere recordings” and “fluency and good taste.” A unique segment of the October program will be a musical and descriptive presentation by Elias of Vivaldi’s beloved Four Seasons as inspiration for four of his critically acclaimed mystery novels, the most recent of which, Cloudy with a Chance of Murder, was hailed by Publishers Weekly for “the vibrant cast of characters and [protagonist] Jacobus’s indomitable personality and wry wit. Not just music lovers will enjoy spending time in his erudite company.” Elias’s books and CD will be available for purchase after the concert, and a donation to Early Music Seattle will be made for every one sold.