ZOOM: Mozart, Tchaikovsky and The Violin Conspiracy Presented by Jeffrey Engel

In Brendan Slocumb’s novel The Violin Conspiracy, Ray McMillian enters the prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition. First, Ray must play Mozart’s violin concerto #5 in the preliminary round before he can advance to the finals where Tchaikovsky’s work awaits him. 

Jeffrey Engel will discuss the origins of their concerti, a brief history of the Tchaikovsky Competition and play recorded excerpts from the two works, as well as some other pieces Ray has to perform.

About the presenter, Jeffrey Engel:

Jeffrey Engel graduated from Ithaca College (New York). He lived in Paris for fourteen years where he studied cello, art history (at the Sorbonne) and earned diplomas in French language. As a cellist, he played with numerous orchestras in France including that of the Paris Opera, performed in chamber ensembles and taught in municipal conservatories.

Mr. Engel has been giving lectures devoted to music history in colleges, libraries, retirement communities and other venues for some fifteen years. He believes that such lectures should be entertaining as well as informative. To that end, his explanations are never too technical, and he infuses his material with amusing anecdotes and musical illustrations.

Since 2004 Mr. Engel has taught at Northwestern Connecticut Community College (Winsted). He was a contributor to the 2001 edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. In 2010 he was selected by Litchfield Magazine as one of the fifty most influential people in Litchfield County.