Death and Transfiguration by Gerald Elias

Death and Transfiguration by Gerald Elias

Vaclav Herza, the last of a dying breed of great but tyrannical conductors, has been the long-time music director of the world-famous orchestra, Harmonium, since fleeing political turmoil in Eastern Europe for America in the mid-twentieth century.

When Herza summarily dismisses the acting concertmaster, Scheherazade O'Brien, from an audition she was poised to win and awards the position to Yumi Shinagawa, a former student of blind, cantankerous violin teacher Daniel Jacobus, the results are lethal, convulsing the entire orchestra.

Jacobus, who had earlier shunned O'Brien's plea for support against Herza's relentless harassment, investigates Herza's closely held secrets. With the help of his old friends Nathaniel Williams, Max Furukawa, and Martin Lilburn, Jacobus seeks not only revenge but redemption from the guilt of his own troubled past.

Gerald Elias is a world-class pianist as well as a critically regarded novelist. His multi-award-winning Daniel Jacobus mystery series is set in the shadowy world of classical music. His debut novel, Devil's Trill, was chosen for Barnes & Noble Discover: Outstanding New Authors. War & Peace, Elias' prize-winning essay. And music was the focus of his TEDxSaltLakeCity2019 talk, which was based on an excerpt from his biography, Symphonies & Scorpions.

His short stories and essays have published in a variety of notable publications, including Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and The Strad. Elias has performed on five continents and has been the music director of Salt Lake City's famed Vivaldi by Candlelight chamber orchestra series since 2004. He was a former violinist with the Boston Symphony and associate concertmaster with the Utah Symphony. He splits his time between Salt Lake City and West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, juggling a busy concert schedule with his desire to broaden his literary horizons.