WebAlisa Weilerstein is one of the foremost cellists of our time. When the cellist Alisa Weilerstein found herself cooped up with her family at the start of the pandemic, her first instinct, like that of so many classical musicians, was to find some way any way to communicate. At least I dont.. Thats an important skill, unless you are someone who only plays alone always, you have to be able to communicate. He was the muse for Shostakovich and Prokofiev, and he premiered over a thousand works over the course of his lifetime. You made your professional debut at the age of 13 and were often referred to as a child prodigy. May 27, 2011 A consummate artist even before she was out of her teens, 29-year-old Alisa Weilerstein has already been granted extraordinary opportunities, from playing for President Obama to taking on an iconic musical assignment. You can also deactivate these cookies. theres no substitute for time away. The 27 who agreed including Tania Len, Joan Tower, Carlos Simon and Daniel Kidane make up a roster that is remarkably diverse demographically and stylistically, but almost all of them asked if they should write with specific reference to Bach, Weilerstein recalled. He had this incredible way of distancing himself when we were working together, so it never felt like I was, sort of, battling a parent. 2023 Orchestre symphonique de Montral. There are myriad reasons, of course, Weilerstein said, exploring the apparent divergence in the fields, but there is one very fundamental thing, which is, you walk into an exhibition, you see the painting or you see the work of art before anything, and it can hit you right where it needs to hit and then you can find out all the context around it. Hablas espaol? Im still going to always try to improve as an artist and to be a more insightful interpreter. Well, something that Im trying to do more of is simply being mindful to get enough exercise and to do good stretches. Its a nice challenge to have. For example, Im about to play the Elgar concerto with the National Symphony in Russia. Its very hard to write anything for solo cello and not have some subconscious relationship to Bach.. You try to treat the score as something thats living and breathing, and therefore, malleable. Ive found that my happiest collaborations with conductors, where Im playing a concerto with them, have been times where you come together from very, very different places. WebExplore Alisa Weilerstein's discography including top tracks, albums, and reviews. Law Firm Website Design by Law Promo, What Clients Say About Working With Gretchen Kenney. For the first chapter of Alisa Weilerstein s groundbreaking project for solo cello, co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall, J. S. Bachs First Cello Suite is woven together with new works, responsive lighting, and scenic architecture, inviting audiences into an immersive, multisensory experience. 2023 Los Angeles Philharmonic Association. So you budget accordingly. FC: You spent a lot of time at Aspen as a very young girl. What did she as a violin teacher have to offer you? .st0{ Its a balance we have to strive forto protect what the composer intended, yet keep the music alive so it doesnt become a museum piece, or simply an archive. However, even with a very specific composer like that, there is tremendous room for interpretation. February 16, 2012 Positioned above a tank full of stingrays at the National Aquarium, Weilerstein used her cello to serenade sea creatures (and many pleasantly surprised visitors) with music by Johann Sebastian Bach. She spoke to Scott Simon from the Spoleto Festival USA, where she'll be performing through June 12. Labels are generally very, very unhelpful. But I wanted to go with my gut, and relate my work to something that might connect with her on that level, not a technical or a composer-y level.. AW: No, because I was three months old. She has been married to Rafael Payare since 2013. I never liked that word. Her How did you feel about that at the time? Cellist Alisa Weilerstein Alisa Weilerstein is an American classical cellist who began performing professionally at the age of 13. There was a temptation to write something really virtuosic, really out there, really avant-garde, said Reinaldo Moya, one of the more junior composers in Weilersteins group, because youre not going to have the chance to work with a soloist of that caliber every time. So to return to it was actually really wonderful, because I found all sorts of new things in it. Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at nine years old, Weilerstein is a staunch advocate for the T1D community. As a soloist she has performed with a number of other major orchestras on four continents. Weilerstein has achieved an impressive set, one that stands apart from the hundreds of others available, yet gives the listener the feeling that she might have done it differently the next day. September 17, 2010 The young cellist plays Bach with elegance, and takes us through the backstreets of Buenos Aires with a gripping performance of Omaramor, Osvaldo Golijov's tribute to tango singer Carlos Gardel. Alisa Weilerstein is one of the foremost cellists of our time. Fragments is an attempt to fix a problem, Weilerstein said of relying too much on our old models of presenting, especially when it comes to new music.. She is married to Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare, with whom she has a young child. Daniel Day-Lewis tour de force. Carlos Kleibers live recording of Brahms 2nd Symphony reminds me of what utter joy and inspiration sounds (and looks!) Its not about expressing the performers personality, but that inevitably happens. To everyones credit, I think, everyone is wrestling with this issue, Weilerstein said in a recent interview from Toronto. September 15, 2010 The young cellist plays Bach with elegance, and takes listeners through the back streets of Buenos Aires with a gripping performance of Omaramor. We all had a lot of time to think about what it means to really connect with an audience, what it means to connect with each other, and an appreciation for being in one communal space.. Her brother is also a conductor and violinist. In general, Weilerstein's approach is deliberate and detailed, more reminiscent of Mstislav Rostropovich than of the members of her own family with whom she plays chamber music. The other goal that I have is to try to help create a twenty-first century repertoire for the cello, much in the way that Rostropovich did in the twentieth century. I read a lot of books. Im always juggling a lot of repertoire at the same time, which requires a lot of rehearsal. I also heard of other people of my generation being called a prodigy as if they were simply a precocious kid. Concert evenings: noon to 8 p.m. Is it always about reaching for some higher goal? Having scoured the internet to survey the new-music scene, and consulted with past collaborators including Osvaldo Golijov and Matthias Pintscher, Weilerstein invited 28 composers to participate. She will offer new music: quite a lot of it, selected from works by 27 composers she has commissioned. Is it to be an interpreter? But again, you crave that kind of thing. Weilerstein is a throwback to an earlier age of classical performers: not content merely to serve as a vessel for the composers wishes, she inhabits a piece fully and turns it to her own ends, marvels the New York Times. The Prelude of the Cello Suite No. 1600 Saint-Urbain Street, If there's such a thing as cello mojo, Alisa Weilerstein has it. AT FIRST GLANCE, Fragments might appear to be another of Weilersteins explorations of Bach, a successor to her all-in-one-night performances of the six suites, her emotive recording of them on the Pentatone label and her pandemic streaming series. I just want to have a kind of outpouring of music, of thoughts, and everything else, she told The New York Times then. Thats the beauty of it. AW: I was 13 when I first came as a student, so that was 1995, and I studied with David Finckel, and also, I played for Dorothy DeLay quite a lot. Its filled with really, really good information. Theres the potential for a really deep kind of collaboration with them, which is kind of unique. Its familiar, theres such a child-like purity to it, says Weilerstein. She was recognized with a MacArthur Fellowship in 2011. Cello virtuoso Alisa Weilerstein is always at the head of her class. FC: And you mentioned Dorothy DeLay, who's a legendary violin teacher at Julliard and here in Aspen. If theres a piece that Ive been playing over and over again, its very helpful to put it away for a while. The perspective gives you something. As a child prodigy, Ma performed for presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy when he was only seven years old. Her Sarabandes are extraordinary, very slow (a lot of the high time total is racked up here) without being emotionally overwrought: they are deeply meditative. This is, therefore, a Romantic and very exciting set of cello suites. Law Office of Gretchen J. Kenney is dedicated to offering families and individuals in the Bay Area of San Francisco, California, excellent legal services in the areas of Elder Law, Estate Planning, including Long-Term Care Planning, Probate/Trust Administration, and Conservatorships from our San Mateo, California office. I think of Mozart as a true prodigy. A multisensory production for solo cello, the six-chapter series sees her weave together the 36 movements of Bachs solo cello suites with 27 new commissions. hide caption. Concert matines: opens at 9 a.m. You have to be in good shape to play the instrument well. It gives you a totally new tool. Its about communicating ideas which are inexpressible in words. Weilerstein was born in Rochester, New York. to a secular Jewish family. She started playing the cello at age four. She made her debut at age 13 with the Cleveland Orchestra playing Tchaikovsky 's Variations on a Rococo Theme. As a soloist she has performed with a number of other major orchestras on four continents. She will perform a Bach suite in its entirety, and she will play it with her typical, heartfelt passion. Video by John Francis Weilerstein and Jason Yoder ( marimba) perform Camille Saint-Sans 's "Le cygne" (The Swan) from The Carnival of the Animals at the White House Evening of Classical Music (November 2009) Problems playing these files? See media help. Alisa Weilerstein (born April 14, 1982) is an American classical cellist. She was named a 2011 MacArthur Fellow. [1] Something I return to every so often is Kunderas The Book of Laughter and Forgetting. WebAlisa Weilerstein. There is no end point. to a secular Jewish family. Even when I was a very, sort of, unruly teenager, I still realized what he was telling me was good, so I took it (laughs). She made her debut at age 13 with the Cleveland Orchestra playing Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme. hide caption. To be included with these amazing people, that, for me, was the biggest honor. Alisa Weilerstein talks about her experience at the Aspen Music Festival and School In this interview from the Harris Hall stage in Aspen, Performance Today's Fred Child talks with renowned cellist Alisa Weilerstein about the Aspen experience, and what the school and festival means to her. That's an honor and a litmus test which Barenboim has only granted one other artist: Yo-Yo Ma. En Espaol. Who are any of us next to Mozart? I got management early on. Those were the kind of stories you heard. She was awarded the MacArthur genius grant in 2011. Reisers set stays constant, a deconstructed theater arrayed so that it evokes soloists constant struggles to create a room of ones own as they travel the worlds halls, Pulitzer said, and at the same time reawakens the spaces for the people who are familiar with them. Each composer has a specific lighting color, to give a sense of which fragments combine to make wholes. Do it for no other reason than that you love it and cant imagine doing anything else. There may be people, Weilerstein admits, who are put off by even a modest staging, or by her tinkering with performance traditions. With her multi-season new project, FRAGMENTS, Weilerstein aims to rethink the concert experience and broaden the tent for classical music. Lifestyle. Literally. hide caption. I live with his music all the time, I love it deeply, Shaw said, adding that the second book of The Well-Tempered Clavier has been her soundtrack for the past year. Weilerstein was born in Rochester, New York. Jamie Jung/Courtesy of the artist She lives with her husband, Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare, and their two young children. So Fragments is not, thankfully, another addition to the increasingly pass genre of response programming, in which composers are commissioned to write works on the dispiriting condition that they must speak to a piece by the masters of the past. For me, it didnt matter whether I was playing in front of people or not. In Alisa Weilersteins groundbreaking, multi-year performance series FRAGMENTS, new music by some of the most compelling composers of our time meets courtesy of the artist Some did, she said, and some very much did not.. To keep growing with them. We were just working together, and I wanted to be a better musician and a better cellist. Fresh, moving, timeless, and some of the most beautiful writing I can think of. Saturday and Sunday: from 2 hours before the concert starts until 30 minutes after the concert starts hide caption. Known for her consummate artistry, emotional investment and rare interpretive depth, she was recognized with a MacArthur genius grant Fellowship in 2011. Alisa Weilerstein & conductor Daniel Barenboim - Elgar & Carter Cello Concertos, Alisa Weilerstein: Master Class (esk filharmonie / Czech Philharmonic), Alisa Weilerstein and Inon Barnatan - Rachmaninovs Sonata for Cello and Piano in G Minor, Alisa Weilerstein plays Bachs Cello Suite No.3, Gigue. There is no end point. Group Sales Request View Seating Chart (PDF) Cellist Alisa Weilerstein has announced on her Facebook page that she and her husband, the conductor Rafael Payare, are expecting their first child together. An ardent proponent of contemporary music, she has also premiered and championed important new works by composers including Pascal Dusapin, Osvaldo Golijov and Matthias Pintscher. Hes a great inspiration for me in that sense. Alisa Weilerstein is one of the foremost cellists of our time. Today her career is truly global in scope, taking her to the most prestigious international venues for solo recitals, chamber concerts and concerto collaborations with all the preeminent conductors and orchestras worldwide. An authority on Bachs music for unaccompanied cello, Weilerstein recently released a best-selling recording of his solo suites on the Pentatone label, streamed them in her innovative #36DaysOfBach project, and deconstructed his beloved G-major prelude in a Vox.com video, viewed almost 1.5 million times. It certainly made things easier to not have that fear, to not have to unload that fear or deal with it. Weilerstein at the Fragments premiere in Toronto. Nobody would say otherwise, but I try not to pay too much attention to that. 1 888 842-9951. Thats a constant discussion. Gerardo Antonio Sanchez Torres/courtesy of the artist Cello Suite No. This is what its about for me., A Cellist Breaks Music Into Fragments, Then Connects Them, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/24/arts/music/alisa-weilerstein-fragments-cellist.html. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Cellist Alisa Weilerstein, one of the newest MacArthur "geniuses." WebAlisa Weilerstein is one of the foremost cellists of our time. Theres this idea that we have a literal script in front of us. I certainly didnt want that and no one around me wanted that for me. For example, the Schumann concerto Ive played many times. 1900 S. Norfolk St., Suite 350, San Mateo, CA 94403 Housing & Homelessness. Known for her consummate artistry, emotional investment and rare interpretive depth, she was recognized with a The Law Office of Gretchen J. Kenney assists clients with Elder Law, including Long-Term Care Planning for Medi-Cal and Veterans Pension (Aid & Attendance) Benefits, Estate Planning, Probate, Trust Administration, and Conservatorships in the San Francisco Bay Area. You also have to deal with the traveling, which is very tough on the body. Her passionate performance of Chopin's Cello Sonata at WGBH is the sign of a young musician well on her way to a major career. The range of interpretive choices facing performers of Bach's Suites for solo cello, BWV 1007-1012, is vast. In general, Weilerstein's approach is deliberate and detailed, more reminiscent of Mstislav Rostropovich than of the members of her own family with whom she plays chamber music. This is important for any musician. Dont do it for anybody else. She left the choice up to them. Im still going to always try to improve as an artist and to be a more insightful interpreter. AW: No, she actually offered quite a lot of technical advice because - contrary to popular belief - the violin and the cello are really not that different, it's actually the same but just reversed. There Will Be Blood. Cellist Alisa Weilerstein plays Bach and Golijov at an NPR Tiny Desk Concert. Alisa Weilerstein is one of the foremost cellists of our time. Theres a lot of things that classical music does uniquely well, and its important to preserve those things, Weilerstein said. I thought the connotations of being considered a prodigy implied living a very different life than the one I lived. I was interested in other things. Since Alisa Weilerstein was just 6, the three have performed together around the globe as the Weilerstein Trio. Violinist Livia Sohn, pianist Inon Barnatan, cellist Alisa Weilerstein and violist Barry Shiffman (not pictured) dig into the the Gypsy-influenced Piano Quartet, Op. But Weilerstein thinks of it not as a new approach to Bach, she said, rather a celebration of the really disparate voices in contemporary classical music, with Bach as a common reference point. This site uses cookies to offer you the best possible experience. I was never subjected to abuse or was made to practice 10 hours a day while locked up. FC: So you were just an infant-in-arms for a while, and you started playing cello when you were four. What do you think of as being the most important creative resources for doing what you do? The Elgar was the signature piece of Barenboim's late wife, cellist Jacqueline du Pre. The helpful thing is that a lot of repertoires that I have to play are repertoires that Ive done before. (1988) and When Alisa Met Elliott (2012). This means people can now refer to you as a genius in an official capacity. Without real love and doggedness and tenacity, its still nearly impossible. Jamie Jung All Rights Reserved. Also, you cant be afraid of performing. Weilerstein was born in Rochester, New York, on April 14, 1982. Weilersteins cello is her id. September 11, 2008 Cellist Alisa Weilerstein was born into a musical family with a love for chamber music. clip-path:url(#SVGID_2_); May 22, 2022 6 AM PT Balancing an infant with a whirlwind career as one of classical musics most in-demand cellists comes easily for Alisa Weilerstein. Come that November, Weilerstein had put her cello away, and she was taking long walks on the beaches near her home in San Diego instead of practicing. Webby James Manheim. California. Brava, brava, brava! After premiering the first two chapters in Toronto in early 2023, with subsequent performances at New Yorks Carnegie Hall and beyond, she looks forward to touring all six chapters in seasons to come. Monday to Friday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., or until 30 minutes after the concert starts Most classical musicians regard his work as sacred in terms of really abiding by exactly what he wrote, in terms of dynamic markings and tempi and that sort of thing. And I played in master classes for Zara Nelsovanand for Lynn Harrell. Yes, that is weird. As I think its a fantastic resource, and he writes so beautifully. 2, BWV 1008, that begins the second part (the second CD for physical buyers) is then especially free and introductory in quality. This website uses cookies to improve your experience when you browse the website. From Astro to Wadada Leo Smith, Fiona Apple to Frank Ocean, here are 50 albums that made 2012 great. Image. Food. Alisa Weilerstein always knew that she wanted to be a cellist. Gerardo Antonio Sanchez Torres/courtesy of the artist, Alisa Weilerstein Plays Elgar: Exploring Music With An Intense Past, Young Cellist With An Old Soul Plays Elgar, Elliott Carter, Alisa Weilerstein: Playing Bach With The Fishes, Around The Classical Internet: September 23, 2011, Cellist Alisa Weilerstein Among MacArthur Grant Winners, Alisa Weilerstein: From Bach To The Backstreets Of Buenos Aires, Band Of Gypsies: Haydn And Brahms At Spoleto Festival, Alisa Weilerstein: The Art Of Chopin's Cello. Do you even remember the first time you were here? To shed the Rorschach inclination towards finding meaning in the program before hearing the music was a really important piece of the puzzle, Pulitzer said. Everyone brings their perspective and insight into what the composer actually meant. So that was a very important thing. Going to hear a concert and not looking at whats on the program and not knowing what comes next those have been some of my deepest and most revealing listening experiences, Shaw said. He was Dad (laughs). But he had this remarkable - actually both my parents did, but especially my father because I worked more intensely with him between the time I was 9 and 15. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. June 16, 2010 Musicians at the 2010 Spoleto Festival U.S.A. bring out the "Gypsy" in Haydn and Brahms. (1988) and When Alisa Met Elliott (2012). I came to Aspen, I think, for 16 summers of my first 18 years of life, so I spent a lot of my formative years here, so it really feels like another home to me. You have to have a willingness to collaborate. 25 by Brahms on June 11 at the Spoleto Festival USA in Charlestown, S.C. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. hide caption. I also always enjoyed playing for non-cellists in addition to cellists, because I always found they gave me great perspective and I grew up practicing with my father who was a great violinist, of course, and I was quite used to that. Youre playing these well-known, exacting pieces of music. Business. How many of us do that, where we look at the bio, were making assumptions about gender, race, nationality, compositional precedent, who where their teachers, and when were they born?, The aim, she added, is to strip as much of that presumptive meaning as possible away, so that listeners can follow Weilersteins attempts to create new meaning in her musical quilts, and dare to embark on this journey of not knowing, and allow it to be OK.. For example, as recently as November, Weilerstein still planned to perform the complete Bach suites for cello in Santa Barbara in April of 2021. One book I would recommend to anyone whos interested in music would be Alex Rosss The Rest Is Noise. I always hated it when people would try to label me in any way. Theres also something beautiful and important about presenting different composers side by side, and behind a curtain, so that youre not focusing on their name, or whether or not theyre Bach.. Alisa Weilerstein (1982-) Alisa Weilerstein. She lives with her husband, Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare, and their young child. Since Alisa Weilerstein was just 6, the three have performed together around the globe as the Weilerstein Trio. There will be limited program notes in advance, little to guide listeners except their ears and eyes through a collagelike narrative arc assembled from musical fragments. Because its hard enough, even when you love it. December 22, 2012 The albums that sum up our year span genres and borders. When youre playing with someone new, do differences in interpretation ever cause problems? Alisa Weilerstein is a young cellist whose emotionally resonant performances of both traditional and contemporary music have earned her international recognition. Alisa Weilerstein is an American cellist who started playing the cello at a young age. They have one child. She asked that the new pieces be about 10 minutes long, and that they come in two or three fragments that she could intersperse with other scores without violating the meaning of the music. Alisa Weilerstein performs at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Since making her professional and Carnegie Hall debuts in her early teens, she has been in Among these cookies, cookies classified as necessary are stored on your browser because they are essential for the functioning of the basic functionality of the website. She started playing the cello at age four. Saturday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Born in New York to a violinist father and pianist mother, she grew up and eventually formed the Weilerstein Trio with her parents. } From there to the regal quality of the third and the life affirming and nostalgic quality of the sixth. The second disc delves into the darker Suites. Law Office of Gretchen J. Kenney. | Disclaimer | Sitemap Right now all I really want to do is give.. So each of the six programs, which Weilerstein will offer over the next few seasons, will have a dramaturgical element: Hanako Yamaguchi, the former, longtime director of music programming at Lincoln Center, is her artistic adviser, and her production team includes the director Elkhanah Pulitzer, the set and lighting designer Seth Reiser, and the costumer Carlos J. Soto. 4 in E-flat Major, BWV 1010. What does the idea of creative freedom mean when youre a classical musician? It didnt last. It gives you a totally new tool. hide caption. Learn all about Alisa Weilerstein on AllMusic. Certain aspects of it may be familiar. Im constantly trying to budget my time properly so that I have enough time and head space to really work on the things that I need to do in a practical sense, but also grow as an artist. In fact, I played for Zara Nelsova when I was much younger, but I wasn't officially a student, I was around maybe 6 or 7 when I had my first lessons with her. November 6, 2012 Hear an excerpt of MacArthur "genius" cellist Alisa Weilerstein's excellent pairing of the Elgar Cello Concerto recorded with Daniel Barenboim, whose late wife Jacqueline Du Pre's name was synonymous with this piece and the cello concerto by Elliott Carter, who died yesterday at 103. For cellist Alisa Weilerstein as for all of us life in 2021 involves a lot of rescheduling. Climate & Environment. The work was co-commissioned with the Detroit Symphony; the Cleveland Orchestra, where Weilerstein performed it last fall; and the National Symphony, where she reprised it in May. So thats how I always looked at it. Moyas fragments depict an early-morning brew, an after-lunch pick-me-up and a sludgy cup needed for staying up late. Her discography also includes chart-topping albums and the winner ofBBC Musics Recording of the Year award. Montreal (Quebec) H2X 0S1, Customer Service Hours Cellist Alisa Weilerstein. In this interview from the Harris Hall stage in Aspen, Performance Today's Fred Child talks with renowned cellist Alisa Weilerstein about the Aspen experience, and what the school and festival means to her. People might not realize that the further you go in this business, the more travel is absolutely a part of the job description. If you have played these pieces many times, as I have, this is the sort of thing you crave. My parents were very conscious to give me as close to a normal childhood as possible, so I had friends, played outside, went to normal school. Earlier in their careers, Moya and Payare both played in the Simn Bolvar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, a country that has such an addiction to caffeine that it has a precise linguistic taxonomy for coffee and its functions. Jamie Jung Its a balance we have to strive forto protect what the composer intended, yet keep the music alive so it doesnt become a museum piece, or simply an archive. She was awarded the MacArthur genius grant in 2011. Her father, Donald, was the longtime first violinist with the fine Cleveland Quartet, and her mother, Vivian Hornik Weilerstein, is an equally well-regarded pianist. Thats something that Im really trying to do. At this point in your career, how do you define success? WebAbout Alisa Weilerstein. Weilerstein was born in Rochester, New York, but was raised in Cleveland, graduating from Cleveland Heights High School.
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