Händel & Friends: A Baroque Tapestry
$38.95 ($28.70 Folio member)
- Meeka Quan DiLorenzo, cello
- Gerald Elias, violin
Francesco Geminiani — Sonata in B-flat major for Solo Violin
Pietro Castrucci — Violin Sonata in A major, Op. 1, No. 6
Johan Helmich Roman — Assaggio for Solo Violin in C major No. 3, BeRI 303
Arcangelo Corelli — Violin Sonata in D minor, Op. 5, No. 12 "La Folia"
Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum is pleased to welcome cellist Meeka Quan DiLorenzo and Gerald Elias for a recital that celebrates the brilliance and influence of Georg Frideric Händel. Meeka and Gerald are longtime friends who met many years ago as members of the Utah Symphony, and have collaborated regularly since then.
The composers featured in this program were Handel's friends and colleagues in London, all deeply shaped by his remarkable influence, with he sole exception of Arcangelo Corelli, the revered "god of the violin," who served as their mentor and source of inspiration in Rome.
Enjoy a performance of the Sonata in D major, Op. 1 No. 13 by George Frideric Handel; Sonata in B-flat major for solo violin by Francesco Geminiani; Sonata Op. 1, No. 6 in A major by Pietro Castrucci; Assaggio V in C major for solo violin by Johan Helmich Roman; and La Follia, Op. 5 No. 12 by Arcangelo Corelli.
About Meeka Quan DiLorenzo, cello
Multi-award-winning cellist Meeka Quan DiLorenzo, who thrills audiences with playing described as "incredibly nuanced" and "exquisitely beautiful," began her professional career as first-prize winner of the Khuner Concerto Competition at age 15 and debuted soon after, performing the Antonín Dvořák Cello Concerto with the Pacific Symphony under the direction of Carl St. Clair. A graduate of the Young Artist Program of the Cleveland Institute of Music and subsequent recipient of the Bachelor of Music degree in cello performance, Ms. Quan DiLorenzo was awarded the highly competitive position of Associate Principal of the Utah Symphony in her inaugural professional audition and remained with that ensemble for five years before joining the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.
An avid chamber musician, Ms. Quan DiLorenzo, a frequent collaborator with Dmitry Sinkovsky; has performed with members of the Juilliard and Cleveland string quartets; and received invitations to the Aspen, Ravinia, Taos, Kingston, Sun Valley, Seattle, Oregon Bach, and Kneisel Hall festivals. She began her cello studies at age 6 with Suzuki teacher Beth Goldstein and has since studied under Julie Feldman, Irene Sharp, Richard Aaron, and Stephan Geber.
https://www.seattlesymphony.org/about/meetthemusicians/theorchestra/artists/orchestra%20order/cello/dilorenzo-quan-meekaAbout Gerald Elias, violin
Gerald Elias leads a double life as a critically acclaimed author and internationally recognized musician.
A former violinist with the Boston Symphony and associate concertmaster of the Utah Symphony, Elias has performed on five continents and has been the conductor of Salt Lake City’s popular Vivaldi by Candlelight chamber orchestra series since 2004. In 2022, he released the first complete recording ever of the Opus 1 violin sonatas of the Baroque virtuoso-composer, Pietro Castrucci, on Centaur Records.
His award-winning Daniel Jacobus mystery series, beginning with Devi’’s Trill, takes place in the dark corners of the classical music world. Murder at the Royal Albert, the eighth and most recent installment of the series, was awarded a 2024 Killer Nashville Top Pick and has been made into an audiobook that features excerpts of live performances by the Boston Symphony and other musical luminaries. AudioFile described it as “an altogether delightful listen.”
Elias has also penned two standalone novels: The Beethoven Sequence, a chilling political thriller; and Roundtree Days, a Jefferson Dance Western Mystery that was a 2023 Silver Falchion Finalist. His prize-winning essay, “War & Peace. And Music,” excerpted from his self-published musical memoir, Symphonies & Scorpions, was the subject of his 2019 TEDx presentation. His essays and short stories have been featured in prestigious journals ranging from The Strad magazine to Coolest American Stories 2023.
Elias divides his time between his home on the shores of Puget Sound in Seattle and his cottage in the Berkshire hills of Massachusetts, savoring the outdoors and maintaining a vibrant concert career while continuing to expand his literary horizons. He particularly enjoys winter, coffee, cooking, travel, watching sports, and being a devoted grandparent.
https://www.mysteriesandmusic.com/biography