Cellist Alisa Weilerstein is out with a new CD for your enjoyment, and it is the Cd of the month for October, 2016.
Shostakovich:
Cello Concerto No. 1 in E flat major, Op. 107
Cello Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 126
Performed by Alisa Weilerstein (cello), with the Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Pablo Heras-Casado conducting.
It was in Shostakovich’s First Cello Concerto that ‘cellist Alisa Weilerstein prompted the Los Angeles Times to write: “Weilerstein’s cello is her id… She and the cello seem simply to be one and the same.”
Ms. Weilerstein now returns with Shostakovich’s cello Concertos 1 and 2.
Composed for the virtuosic cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, the coupling and contrasting of these two amazing works is irresistible: the anti-heroic, relentless, emotionally suppressed First Concerto set alongside the sarcasm and isolation of the Second.
Weilerstein’s interpretation is likely influenced by her meeting Rostropovich –a close friend of the composer – when she was 22, playing Shostakovich for him and absorbing his advice and wisdom.
The Sunday Times wrote last month:
“Weilerstein follows outstanding Decca recordings of the Elgar and Dvorak concertos with this pairing, which illustrates her depth and range…Heras-Casado and the Bavarians match the sardonic bite of her playing: this is one of the best accounts ever recorded of a work we don’t hear often enough in concert.”
Here is Ms. Weilerstein in an album sampler:
