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Alisa Weilerstein

Shostakovich Cello Concertos 1 & 2

Decca Classics

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Alisa Weilerstein: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
1 Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No.1, Op.107 - Allegretto  
2 Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No.1, Op.107 - Moderato  
3 Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No.1, Op.107 - Cadenza  
4 Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No.1, Op.107 - Allegro con moto  
5 Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No.2, Op.126 - Largo  
6 Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No.2, Op.126 - Allegretto  
7 Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No.2, Op.126 - Allegretto  
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Musicians often set great store by their artistic genealogy – having a teacher who was taught by a musician who studied with a great performer of the nineteenth century, for example. But the genealogical chain rarely comes with as few links as it does in the case of Alisa Weilerstein and her connection to the composer Dmitri Shostakovich, whose two great cello concertos she records for Decca Classics.

In fact the chain has just one link. Weilerstein was mentored by the legendary cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, for whom both concertos were written, and who was a great friend of the composer. For authenticity of insight and authority of information, Weilerstein's credentials could hardly be more auspicious.

The cellist was 22 when she played Concerto No. 1 for Rostropovich. As she recalls:

"He was a titanic presence, sitting very close, his feet almost touching mine. I played the entire concerto for him without stopping. He then gave me a piece of advice which I'll never forget. He said that the emotions in Shostakovich's music should never be ‘direct' or ‘heart on sleeve.' The performer should convey intense emotion that has to be somehow concealed at the same time."

For this recording Weilerstein performs with the Spanish conductor Pablo Heras-Casado and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, although the circumstances of each concerto were different. The First was set down in studio conditions, and the Second at a live concert later in the same week. Heras-Casado, who is also Principal Conductor of the Orchestra of St Luke's, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Teatro Real, Madrid, has nothing but praise and admiration for the cellist's artistry:

  • It goes right to the gut.' Alisa Weilerstein digs into Bach at East Lansing's Wharton Center / CityPULSE
    Posted At: January 19, 2023 12:00 AM
    CityPULSE - Lawrence Cosentino writes…..The great thing about the six Bach solo Cello Suites is that you can resort to the most outrageous hyperbole to describe them and still fall short. It’s music to be born to, to live to and to die to. It’s the balm you play for Socrates after giving him the fatal hemlock, the signal you send to Galactus to dissuade him from eating Earth. Whether Greek philosophers or M...
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  • When Beethoven becomes vulnerable its almost unbearable - Alisa Weilerstein interviews with GRAMOPHONE
    Posted At: May 23, 2022 12:00 AM
    GRAMOPHONE - Andrew Farach-Colton writes….For her new Beethoven cello sonatas album, Alisa Weilerstein has characteristically absorbed other interpretations before throwing it all away to find her own path, finds Andrew Farach-ColtonAlisa Weilerstein recorded both Bach’s Six Solo Suites and Beethoven’s five sonatas – widely considered the Old and New Testaments of the cello repertory – in a little more than...
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  • 5 tips from 5 string players for conquering performance nerves / theStrad
    Posted At: May 21, 2019 12:00 AM

    Artists share their wisdom on battling the fear monster, as featured over the last five years of The Strad. Here are 5 tips 1. Concentrate on intention - A great artist by the name of Leon Fleisher once shared a secret with me when I was 18. My bow was shaking while I was playing in a masterclass for him and  he said something that in the moment did not seem very sympathetic: that if I had enoug...
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  • Aspen Public Radio - music festival showcase features Alisa Weilerstein
    Posted At: August 15, 2017 12:00 AM

    Lots of things happening this last week at the Aspen Music Festival! And the musicians are sometimes getting a little giddy. Bassist Edgar Meyer says when he's walking around with his instrument in its case, he sometimes sees people looking at him in a way that he knows they're about to say something stupid! And bass trombonist John Rojak has been so busy preparing for Saturday's concert with...
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  • Alisa Weilerstein Interview with All Classical Portland
    Posted At: January 7, 2016 12:00 AM

    Frederic Chopin and Sergei Rachmaninov were composers, sure. However, both stand as among the greatest of pianists of their respective eras (early 19th century / early-to-mid 20th century). While much of each composers' repertoire is for solo piano, as well as a few concertos, each wrote wonderful music for the cello. Both composers put the cello on an equal footing with the piano, and both wrote large-a...
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  • A Conversation with Alisa Weilerstein / NPR: Diane Rehm
    Posted At: December 14, 2015 12:00 AM

    New York Magazine called Alisa Weilerstein "Yo-Yo Ma's heiress apparent as sovereign of the American cello." Gifted from a young age, her music career skyrocketed despite a childhood diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. Awarding her a "genius" grant when she was 29, the MacArthur Foundation cited Weilerstein's "emotionally resonant performances" and ability to combine "technical precision with impassioned music...
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  • Alisa Weilerstein on MPR - Learning to Listen
    Posted At: December 15, 2014 12:00 AM

    St. Paul, Minn. - On today's Learning to Listen, Alisa Weilerstein talks about the evolution of the cello as a solo instrument, and how Antonin Dvořák, Pablo Casals, and Zoltán Kodály changed how the world perceived the cello. Weilerstein's first two commercial recordings featured her as soloist with orchestras, playing concerti by Elgar, Dvořák and Carter. ...
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  • Alisa Weilerstein interview with KDFC: San Francisco
    Posted At: December 11, 2014 12:00 AM

    Cellist Alisa Weilerstein is comfortable in front of an orchestra and playing chamber music, but her new album from Decca is just her alone. Fittingly, it's called Solo - and she decided to highlight works that have all been written for unaccompanied cello in the past hundred years, by Zoltán Kodály, Gaspar Cassadó, Osvaldo Golijov, and Bright Sheng.  For many casual cla...
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  • Alisa Weilerstein plays Elgar Concerto with Cleveland Orchestra / Cleveland.com review
    Posted At: November 7, 2014 12:00 AM

    Cleveland-bred cellist Alisa Weilerstein, now a superstar on international platforms, brought a very youthful interpretation of Elgar's last great work, his Cello Concerto in E Minor, to Severance Hall Thursday night. It was a mercurial performance, at times presenting Elgar's thoughts with forcefulness, elsewhere allowing his anguished phrases to dissolve in the faintest of pianissimi, while mai...
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  • Alisa Weilerstein performs with The Cleveland Orchestra / Clevelandclassical.com
    Posted At: November 4, 2014 12:00 AM

    In a recent interview with clevelandclassical.com, Alisa Weilerstein discussed her upcoming performance with The Cleveland Orchestra and conductor Giancarlo Guerrero of Elgar's Cello Concerto on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014 at 7:30p in Severance Hall. The program, which also includes Arvo Pärt's Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten and John Adams's ...
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  • Alisa Weilerstein - Dvorak / New Classical Tracks feature
    Posted At: September 17, 2014 12:00 AM

    CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE JULIE AMACHER'S INTERVIEW w/ Alisa Weilerstein "I know this has been said before, but I really do believe that it's the most human of all instruments," says cellist Alisa Weilerstein. "It encompasses the entire spectrum of what the human voice can do from the deepest bass to the highest coloratura soprano. And it's capable of expressing, kind of empathizi...
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  • Alisa Weilerstein plays Dvorak Cello Concerto with Czech Philharmonic / The Guardian review
    Posted At: August 25, 2014 12:00 AM

    Nobody does Proms encores like the Czech Phil. The Czech repertoire is shot through with dances whichever way you cut it, and Jiří Bělohlávek's orchestra rounded off this programme with a generous three of them: a Dvořák Slavonic Dance, a scurrying Skocna by Smetana, and Nedbal's Valse Triste, all delivered with effortless poise and style. In fact the...
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  • Alisa Weilerstein plays Elgar Cello Concerto with Orchestra of St. Luke's led by Pablo Heras-Casado / WQXR Live Broadcast
    Posted At: August 3, 2014 12:00 AM

    Tune in to WQXR for a live broadcast of the Caramoor Festival's season finale, featuring the Orchestra of St. Luke's led by conductor Pablo Heras-Casado. Cellist Alisa Weilerstein caps a week-long residency at the festival as the soloist in Elgar's Cello Concerto. Weilerstein's performance is bookended by two 19th-century favorites: the rousing Prelude to Act III of Wagner's...
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  • Alisa Weilerstein - Dvorak / BBC Music Magazine review
    Posted At: July 17, 2014 12:00 AM

    A mixture of muscular virtuosity and radiant reflection marks the middle part of the first movement. Alisa Weilerstein's performance of the slow movment reveals a profound understanding of the relationship between the solo parts and the multi-faceted delicacy of Dvořák's orchestration, while that of the finale confirms that this is one of the great ensemble performances of this concerto a...
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  • Alisa Weilerstein interview on WNYC: The Leonard Lopate Show
    Posted At: June 2, 2014 12:00 AM

    Cellist Alisa Weilerstein is widely recognized as one of the great classical musicians of her generation, and in 2011 she received a MacArthur "genius" grant. She discusses performing on June 6th at the New York Philharmonic's Biennial, the orchestra's contemporary music festival, where she will give the NY premiere of Mattias Pintscher's Reflections on Narcissus. Listen to Alisa's interview with Leo...
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  • Alisa Weilerstein - Dvorak / The Sunday Times review
    Posted At: May 18, 2014 12:00 AM

    Following her remarkable Decca debut coupling of the Elgar and Elliott Carter concertos with Daniel Barenboim and his Staatskapelle Berlin, we now get this glorious account of the Dvorak concerto from Alisa Weilerstein. The brilliant young American has no need for the naff "come hither" pose in front of Dvorak's Bohemian forestry on the booklet cover: her musicianship amply evokes the composer's nostalgi...
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  • Alisa Weilerstein talks Dvorak and future plans / Presto Classical interview
    Posted At: May 6, 2014 12:00 AM

    It's been a whirlwind year for Alisa Weilerstein, with two BBC Music Magazine Awards for her recording of the Elgar and Carter concertos with Daniel Barenboim, a new disc of Dvorak, and a plethora of major international engagements. We caught up with Alisa over the phone last week during the Tel Aviv leg of her current tour, which runs until the end of July and sees her performing a wide variety of s...
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  • Alisa Weilerstein - Dvorak / WRTI: Classical New Releases
    Posted At: April 9, 2014 12:00 AM

    Alisa Weilerstein: Dvorak - The raves keep coming in for this new recording of the great Czech's American-inflected cello concerto pairing young American cellist Alisa Weilerstein with the Czech Philharmonic.  Soulful, passionate, full-blooded, and captivating are just a few of the adjectives other reviewers have used to describe her performance, and I can't disagree. Weilerstein's gorgeous, singing...
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  • Alisa Weilerstein wins BBC Music Magazine's 'Recording of the Year'
    Posted At: April 8, 2014 12:00 AM

    Cellist Alisa Weilerstein has won the BBC Music Magazine Recording of the Year Award with her debut concerto disc, the Elgar and Carter Cello Concertos, with the Berlin Staatskappelle and Daniel Barenboim, released on the Decca label. Voted for by the public and BBC Music Magazine's expert jury of critics, Weilerstein's disc represents the very best of more than 1,500 reviewed by BBC Music Ma...
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  • Everyone's Talking About: Alisa Weilerstein / Sinfini Music
    Posted At: April 7, 2014 12:00 AM

    She's the young American cellist who won a coveted McArthur 'genius grant', has persuaded Daniel Barenboim to return to the Elgar Cello Concerto, and this month releases her second solo recording featuring the Dvořák Cello Concerto: Alisa Weilerstein has graduated from star-in-the-making to outright dazzler.   READ THE FULL Sinfini Music ARTICLE...
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  • WUOL Louisville interviews Alisa Weilerstein
    Posted At: March 26, 2014 12:00 AM

    Alisa Weilerstein's latest album captures one of Antonin Dvorák's best-loved works, his Cello Concerto, and two handfuls of gorgeous songs and arrangements. The whole album was recorded in the same concert hall that Dvorák conducted his own music. Jiří Bělohlávek conducts the Czech Philharmonic for the concerto, and Anna Polonsky plays piano for the rest of the album...
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  • Alisa Weilerstein discusses new Dvorak CD this Sunday with WDAV Radio
    Posted At: February 28, 2014 12:00 AM

    Alisa Weilerstein's new recording for Decca/Universal Music Classics features the music of Antonín Dvořák, and explores works created during the time Dvořák spent in the United States. The disc features his Cello Concerto in B minor and Silent Woods, both recorded with Jiří Bělohlávek and the Czech Philharmonic. Also included on the album are arr...
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  • Alisa Weilerstein's new Dvorak release - is the KDFC 'CD of the Week'
    Posted At: February 20, 2014 12:00 AM

    Discover New Music with KDFC's CDs of the Week! This week's feature is from American cellist Alisa Weilerstein who joins forces with the Czech Philharmonic and conductor Jiri Belohclavek in a performance of the Dvorak Cello Concerto. Recorded in Prague's Rudolfinum, where Dvorák himself conducted the Czech Philharmonic's inaugural concert in 1896, works on the album include th...
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  • Alisa Weilerstein - Dvorak CD is WCLV: Cleveland 'Choice for February'
    Posted At: February 1, 2014 12:00 AM

    Each month, WCLV's Program Director Bill O'Connell selects a series of special 'Choice CDs' to be featured on the air throughout the month. For February, Bill has selected Cellist: Alisa Weilerstein's new Dvorák CD with the Czech Philharmonic led by Jirí Belohlávek. Here are his comments on this standout CD.  WCLV listeners know that Alisa ...
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  • Alisa Weilerstein interview with KUAF - Fayettville airs TODAY!!!
    Posted At: January 31, 2014 12:00 AM

    American cellist Alisa Weilerstein has dreamed of playing Dvorak's cello concerto at concert halls the world over since age four. Her new recording for Decca documents this passion, with Weilerstein performing the lyrical work, accompanied by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra under Jiri Belohlavek. KUAF - Fayettville AR Katy Henriksen talks to Weilerstein about her early love for Dvorak, the importanc...
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  • Alisa Weilerstein stops by New York's WQXR Radio for a 'Cafe Concert'
    Posted At: January 27, 2014 12:00 AM

    Cellist Alisa Weilerstein, a 2011 recipient of the MacArthur "Genius" grant and busy touring artist, recently stopped by the WQXR Café in New York to interview and perform soulful renditions of solo works by Osvaldo Golijov and J.S. Bach. She described the Gigue from Bach's Cello Suite No. 3 as "one of the most beloved pieces for cello." She also talked about her new Dvorak Check out...
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  • Alisa Weilerstein's Dvorak - is this week's WQXR: New York / Album Of the Week
    Posted At: January 26, 2014 12:00 AM

    New York cellist Alisa Weilerstein traveled to the Czech Republic to record the centerpiece of her new all-Dvorák album. She teams up with the Czech Philharmonic and conductor irí Belohlávek in this lush favorite of the cello literature, delivering a supple and highly expressive performance. The rest of the program features short works including cello-piano arrangements of songs ("Le...
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  • Alisa Weilerstein interviews with Classical Radio TODAY!! for new Dvorak recording on Decca/Universal
    Posted At: January 23, 2014 12:00 AM

    American cellist Alisa Weilerstein's new recording for Decca/Universal Music Classics will feature the music of Antonín Dvořák, and will be released in North America on January 28, 2014. The album explores works created during the time Dvořák spent in the United States, and features his Cello Concerto in B minor and Silent Woods, both recorded with Jiří...
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