To hear the rest of my conversation, click on the extended interview above, or download the extended podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. And it was kind of a reminder of why we both do what we do and why we love what we do so much.” “This is like therapy, just to make music and to communicate these really profound ideas and emotions in a way that we didn't have to use our words for anything. It's fascinating to see how he just broke all the rules. That, historically, was a really big deal. And it's announced from the very first note, which is played by the cello alone. “And then the Third Sonata is the first one where the cello and piano are truly equal partners. I'm just kind of floating around and the piano is just wailing away, basically. In other words, the piano is really the main voice, and the cello is having a kind of obbligato voice. “The first two sonatas, the first one, in particular, are really more of piano and cello sonatas. “And I'm really glad you brought that up, because historically, in terms of our canon, it was a very important trajectory that we're following. Can you talk about that evolution and how we hear it in these works? So stated the MacArthur Foundation when awarding Alisa. One of the coolest things about Beethoven's sonatas for cello and piano is that in five fairly concise works, we get to hear how his relationship between the piano and cello was redefined. Weilerstein is a consummate performer, combining technical precision with impassioned musicianship. When Beethoven becomes vulnerable, it's almost unbearable in terms of how moving, how touching it is. It combines some of the most structurally interesting and beautifully crafted music with primal, rhythmic drive and energy, which is present even in the most tender moments. It's the most visceral music I can think of. It's like, well, OK, now is the perfect time. I mean, we had been talking about doing it eventually. And, obviously, that got a bit overshadowed by world events. And so the Beethoven sonatas were pieces that we didn't want to rush into recording.Ģ020, of course, was also supposed to be the big Beethoven year. “Nothing is like the Bach cello suites in terms of, let's say, people's reverence for them and the fear of putting one’s sort of permanent stamp on them.
Why was now the right time to make this recording? The two of you have been playing these works for the entirety of your collaboration, which dates to 2008. That’s cellist Alisa Weilerstein talking about what it takes to integrate family with an active career.Ībout five months ago, she and her husband, conductor Rafael Payare, welcomed their second daughter, Elina, who joins big sister Ariadna.īut not only did Weilerstein expand her family during the global pandemic she also created a new recording with her longtime musical partner, pianist Inon Barnonton: a collection of Ludwig van Beethoven’s cello sonatas. But it is more than possible, and it's fantastic.”