WebMini Bio (1) Alisa Weilerstein is known for If I Stay (2014), P.O.V. I count myself incredibly lucky in that respector maybe I was just very stupid, I dont knowthat I wasnt afraid to be in front of people. 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. Saturday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 1 888 842-9951. .st0{ Cellist Alisa Weilerstein plays Bach and Golijov at an NPR Tiny Desk Concert. 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. Other career milestones include a performance at the White House for President and Mrs. Obama. .st0{fill:#000;}. 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. Some did, she said, and some very much did not.. 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. Concert evenings: noon to 8 p.m. I think of Mozart as a true prodigy. But if both of us are open to different orientations or interpretations, that can yield a really interesting interpretation and performance. I always hated it when people would try to label me in any way. She made her debut at age 13 with the Cleveland Orchestra playing Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme. hide caption. Visita nuestra pgina web en espaol. December 4, 2012 The celebrated young American cellist walks us through her recording of this "devastating" concerto written just after the end of World War I. 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.. I tend to say yes too often, but Im trying to get better at that. June 16, 2010 Musicians at the 2010 Spoleto Festival U.S.A. bring out the "Gypsy" in Haydn and Brahms. I was 14 when I went with my manager. Fresh, moving, timeless, and some of the most beautiful writing I can think of. This website uses cookies to improve your experience when you browse the website. Yes, that is weird. I want to keep fostering relationships with composers, help expand our repertoire, and create a cornerstones of twenty-first century repertoire. Daniel Day-Lewis tour de force. 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. Im still going to always try to improve as an artist and to be a more insightful interpreter. Food. Conversation Alisa Weilerstein on what it means to be a classical musician Music , Beginnings, Collaboration, Process From a conversation with T. Cole Rachel April 19, 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. WebAbout Alisa Weilerstein. Everyone brings their perspective and insight into what the composer actually meant. These cookies do not store any personal information. They have one child. Alisa Weilerstein always knew that she wanted to be a cellist. Its not about expressing the performers personality, but that inevitably happens. 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 collaborated with conductor Daniel Barenboim, whose late wife, Jacqueline du Pre, was the standard-bearer for this work. Its nice, and of course, its a great 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. When youre playing with someone new, do differences in interpretation ever cause problems? Carlos Kleibers live recording of Brahms 2nd Symphony reminds me of what utter joy and inspiration sounds (and looks!) 25 by Brahms on June 11 at the Spoleto Festival USA in Charlestown, S.C. For reasons she cant explain, she was instantly attracted to the instrument as a small child. I havent played the Elgar in a long time. Free to write what he wanted, Moya drew on the personal ties that he has to Weilerstein through the conductor Rafael Payare, her husband. To be included with these amazing people, that, for me, was the biggest honor. Shes collaborated with many artists over the years and performed at well-known venues and schools all over the world, as well as being a solo cellist. It felt a little bit all right, it felt a lot risky to give her a piece about coffee like that, Moya said. Image. Its a constant challenge, too. Her repertory is wide but has been marked by a focus on contemporary music. The work is better as a result. Alisa Weilerstein: From Bach To The Backstreets Of Buenos Aires. I realized that what he was telling me was very valuable. Weilerstein avoids the dance rhythms for the most part, but sometimes, when they serve her purposes, they show up, and the surfaces are strikingly variegated. I do think, though, that we clearly have a problem, that we are not connecting with enough people, and that we are relying too much on our old models of presenting, especially when it comes to new music.. Cellist Alisa Weilerstein. FC: And you mentioned Dorothy DeLay, who's a legendary violin teacher at Julliard and here in Aspen. You can also deactivate these cookies. I do that with great repertoires a lot. There is no end point. hide caption. The goal is always to know these scores better, to truly, The Creative Independent is ad-free and published by, Master Class (esk filharmonie / Czech Philharmonic), Rachmaninovs Sonata for Cello and Piano in G Minor. We were just working together, and I wanted to be a better musician and a better cellist. 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.. She has evidently thought hard about how contemporary composers can be given a fairer chance to break through to audiences, especially to those people for whom contemporary art, say, is an easier ask. Monday to Friday: noon to 5 p.m. Its familiar, theres such a child-like purity to it, says Weilerstein. For example, as recently as November, Weilerstein still planned to perform the complete Bach suites for cello in Santa Barbara in April of 2021. Well, something that Im trying to do more of is simply being mindful to get enough exercise and to do good stretches. Her brother is also a conductor and violinist. The helpful thing is that a lot of repertoires that I have to play are repertoires that Ive done before. 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. As the UKs Telegraph put it, Weilerstein is truly a phenomenon.. Alisa Weilersteins latest project is a series of staged solo recitals that weave Bachs cello suites with newly commissioned works. Cellist Alisa Weilerstein The goal is always to know these scores better, to truly live with the great masterworkslike the Bach Suites, for example. They have one child. 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. Learn all about Alisa Weilerstein on AllMusic. This is, therefore, a Romantic and very exciting set of cello suites. Luckily, I didnt ever have that fear. This means people can now refer to you as a genius in an official capacity. Gerardo Antonio Sanchez Torres/courtesy of the artist You try to treat the score as something thats living and breathing, and therefore, malleable. So thats how I always looked at it. hide caption. 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. Lifestyle. I know many people who say, I got inspired by such-and-such conductor when my school took me on a field trip to hear a concert, or such-and-such musician came to my school, and then I knew I loved classical music. The goal is not necessarily that theyll all become musicians, but just that this music will be part of their lives. It certainly made things easier to not have that fear, to not have to unload that fear or deal with it. Already an authority on Bachs music for unaccompanied cello, in spring 2020 Weilerstein 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 more than two million times. Its filled with really, really good information. courtesy of the artist Who are any of us next to Mozart? hide caption. 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. 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. (1988) and When Alisa Met Elliott (2012). Business. There are only a few weeks of the year when Im not on the road. So you budget accordingly. For example, the Schumann concerto Ive played many times. 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. 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. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. She will offer new music: quite a lot of it, selected from works by 27 composers she has commissioned. Im still going to always try to improve as an artist and to be a more insightful interpreter. 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. 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. This is the philosophy behind the project, fundamentally: connecting the pieces, connecting the voices of our time together, connecting the familiar and the new, connecting this music with the audience without the barrier of so much contextualization, categorization, bias, all of these things., And connecting, she added, our contemporary world with the concert format. The trio currently resides at the New England Conservatory in Boston. Her brother is the violinist and conductor Joshua Weilerstein (born in 1987). She is married to Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare. [5] Weilerstein has received a number of honors. Weilerstein was born in Rochester, New York. 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. Entertainment & Arts. She also is active in chamber music and performs with her parents, violinist Donald Weilerstein (the founding first violinist of the Cleveland Quartet) and pianist Vivian Weilersteins cello is her id. The newly renovated Dock Street Theater in Charleston, S.C., plays host to Gypsy-inspired sounds. Now, the youngest Weilerstein's profile as a soloist is being kicked into high gear. Is it always about reaching for some higher goal? Cellist Alisa Weilerstein. Born in New York to a violinist father and pianist mother, she grew up and eventually formed the Weilerstein Trio with her parents. Jamie Jung 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. 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. 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.. But for this upcoming performance, itll be my first time that I play it without a conductor, so it should be interesting. Alisa Weilerstein is streaming one movement of the Bach cello suites a day, just as she has released a polished studio recording of them. For me, the greatest honor of the MacArthur Grant was that its something given not only to musicians, but also to scientists and writers. You received the MacArthur Grant. I also have a young daughter, who is 11 months old. 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. I just want to have a kind of outpouring of music, of thoughts, and everything else, she told The New York Times then. Allegro molto vivace 11:54 Golijov: Omaramor For Solo Cello 8:14 Alisa Weilerstein (cello) Recorded: 2012-10-14 Recording Venue: Teldex Studio, Berlin Hablas espaol? To keep growing with them. 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. I read a lot of books. Alex Irvin / Courtesy Aspen Music Festival and School. (1988) and When Alisa Met Elliott (2012). For her though, Fragments is an attempt to make the concert hall more of a place of adventure again, and less of a dead end. As Artistic Partner of the Trondheim Soloists, she regularly tours and records with the Norwegian orchestra. Right now all I really want to do is give.. Human beings are far more complex. AW: Well he was just my dad to me, I mean, he wasn't this world famous violinist. Caroline Shaw, whose Microfictions for Weilerstein is the second volume in a run of collected miniatures that she has also written for the Mir Quartet and the New York Philharmonic, said that her piece is not an explicit response to Bach, but that his influence was surely present in it. 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. theres no substitute for time away. As Do you even remember the first time you were here? WebExplore Alisa Weilerstein's discography including top tracks, albums, and reviews. 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. Weilerstein at the Fragments premiere in Toronto. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. The range of interpretive choices facing performers of Bach's Suites for solo cello, BWV 1007-1012, is vast. Here's a space to search our entire website. Law Office of Gretchen J. Kenney. Elina will People might assume that a talent like yours must have been fostered at the expense of everything else. AW: No, because I was three months old. She mentioned that her first cello was a cereal box with a chopstick for a bow! 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. 4 in E-flat Major, BWV 1010. Theyre chamber music players, which means that theyre listening to each other individually. WebAlisa Weilerstein. She lives with her husband, Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare, and their two young children. 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. Known for her consummate artistry, emotional investment and rare interpretive depth, she was recognized with a Cellist Alisa Weilerstein has appeared with leading orchestras all over the U.S. and Europe and has played chamber music with her parents, both well-known performers, in the Weilerstein Trio. 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. What do you think of as being the most important creative resources for doing what you do? You try to treat the score as something thats living and breathing, and therefore, malleable. I think its a fantastic resource, and he writes so beautifully. All Rights Reserved. Dont do it for anybody else. For example, Im about to play the Elgar concerto with the National Symphony in Russia. And I played in master classes for Zara Nelsovanand for Lynn Harrell. Then you come back to it with a new and fresh perspective. I certainly didnt want that and no one around me wanted that for me. hide caption. Video by John Francis One book I would recommend to anyone whos interested in music would be Alex Rosss The Rest Is Noise. Theres a lot of things that classical music does uniquely well, and its important to preserve those things, Weilerstein said. FC: Was it hard playing at home for your dad - this world-famous violinist - when you were just learning how to play the cello? Thats something that Im really trying to do. Veterans Pension Benefits (Aid & Attendance). Phone: 650-931-2505 | Fax: 650-931-2506 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. 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. Brava, brava, brava! If Weilersteins response was a common one to a common crisis, the result of her reflections shines with uncommon ambition, so much so that it is hard to think of many soloists of a similar stature who would dare to bring anything like it to the stage. 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. Those were the kind of stories you heard. Cellist Alisa Weilerstein, explaining her decision to retract an earlier promise not to play the pieces until she was older, says that the suites "present the player with infinite possibilities." She was awarded the MacArthur genius grant in 2011. She spoke to Scott Simon from the Spoleto Festival USA, where she'll be performing through June 12. Youre playing these well-known, exacting pieces of music. Mito Habe-Evans/NPR What does the idea of creative freedom mean when youre a classical musician? 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. If you have played these pieces many times, as I have, this is the sort of thing you crave. 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. Webby James Manheim. hide caption. Thats a great advantage of playing these real masterworks, because theyre so rich in detail that you can always find something new, no matter how many times youve played them. Im always juggling a lot of repertoire at the same time, which requires a lot of rehearsal. 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. 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). Since making her professional and Carnegie Hall debuts in her early teens, she has been in high demand as a solo 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. She will perform a Bach suite in its entirety, and she will play it with her typical, heartfelt passion. If there's such a thing as cello mojo, Alisa Weilerstein has it. Thats the beauty of it. 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 Lucio Lecce/courtesy of the artist Its very hard to write anything for solo cello and not have some subconscious relationship to Bach.. Known for her consummate artistry, emotional investment and rare interpretive depth, she was recognized with a MacArthur genius grant Fellowship in 2011.
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