Glazunov Elegie Op. 44- Paul Laraia viola

Recorded Nov 14th 2021 at the Dimenna Center in NYC.
1st Prize winner the 13th Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition and 14th Sphinx Competition, violist Paul Laraia is enjoying the early stages of an international career as soloist and chamber musician. Acclaimed by the Strad for his "eloquent” and "vibrant" playing, Paul has been soloist with the major orchestras of Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Bogotá, New Jersey, Nashville, New Haven, and St. Paul.
As a principal member of the internationally acclaimed Sejong Soloists and as the violist of the Grammy Award winning Catalyst Quartet, Paul has given hundreds of performances globally in venues such as Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, the Kennedy Center in DC, Seoul Arts Center, Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Hall, Lincoln Center’s Great Performers Series, and London's Wigmore Hall. Additionally, he has been an invited artist at festivals such as the Yellow Barn, Sarasota, Vail International Dance, Festival Del Sole, incheon music hic et nunc!, Hong Kong Generation Next Arts, Sitka, Banff, Grand Canyon, Cornell’s “Mayfest”, and Chamber Music Northwest, where he has collaborated with artists such as Gil Shaham, Joshua Bell, Yo-Yo Ma, Jorg Widmann, Vadim Repin, Edgar Meyer, Donald Weilerstein, Anthony Marwood, and Anthony McGill.
Laraia comes from a Philadelphian viola lineage, having studied with Brynina Socolofsky, Choon-jin Chang, and Che-hung Chen during his formative years in highschool. Paul then continued his studies at the New England Conservatory of Music under Kim Kashkashian, where he made musical friends and colleagues that continue to influence him to this day.

[@paddymca8572]

Easily the best performance here. I’ve listened to quite a few and you get the spirit best. Bowing and intonation quite wonderful.

[@ritanmartinez8630]

Bravo to you both. Beautiful piano playing blending perfectly with the musical and emotional viola performance.