Alisa Weilerstein - Debut Cello Recital

What an impressive, beautifully recorded showcase from this 18-year-old cellist! From the cruel pyrotechnics of Paganini's Rossini Variations to the dark lyricism of Falla's Popular Spanish Suite, the cello is Alisa Weilerstein's oyster. Her supple bow arm and mega-secure left hand can do anything the music and instrument asks of them. The cellist's intense, roomy tone and quavering energy especially lend themselves to those works on this disc with a nationalist bent: Ginastera's Pampeana No. 2, Janácek's Fairy Tale, and the Falla Suite Popular Española. We might wish for more relaxation and expressive economy in Fauré's Après un Rêve, Mendelssohn's Song Without Words Op. 109, or Saint-Saëns The Swan, which vibrate more than they sing. The Read more cellist's mother, Vivian Hornik Weilerstein brings a degree of nuance and shaping to the piano parts that transcends mere accompanying. Whatever this marvelous young cellist does next, I'm all ears. And if mom were at the piano, that wouldn't hurt either!

--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com Read less

1. Introduction and Variations from Rossini's Mosè "Dal tuo stellato soglio" by Niccolò Paganini

Performer: Alisa Weilerstein (Cello), Vivian Hornik Weilerstein (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: ?1819

2. From the Bohemian forest, Op. 68/B 133: no 5, Silent Woods by Antonín Dvorák

Performer: Vivian Hornik Weilerstein (Piano), Alisa Weilerstein (Cello)
Period: Romantic
Written: Bohemia
Notes: Composition written: Bohemia (?1883 - 1884).
Composition revised: Bohemia (1893).

3. Pampeana no 2 for Cello and Piano, Op. 21 by Alberto Ginastera

Performer: Alisa Weilerstein (Cello), Vivian Hornik Weilerstein (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1950; Argentina

4. Song without words for Cello and Piano in D major, Op. 109 by Felix Mendelssohn

Performer: Vivian Hornik Weilerstein (Piano), Alisa Weilerstein (Cello)
Written: 1845

5. Pezzo capriccioso for Cello and Orchestra in B minor, Op. 62 by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Performer: Alisa Weilerstein (Cello), Vivian Hornik Weilerstein (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1887; Russia

6. Après un rêve, Op. 7 no 1 by Gabriel Fauré

Performer: Alisa Weilerstein (Cello), Vivian Hornik Weilerstein (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1877; France

7. Fairy tale by Leos Janácek

Performer: Alisa Weilerstein (Cello), Vivian Hornik Weilerstein (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1910-23; Brno, Czech Republic

8. Carnival of the animals: no 13, The swan by Camille Saint-Saëns

Performer: Vivian Hornik Weilerstein (Piano), Alisa Weilerstein (Cello)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1886; France

9. Canciones populares españolas (7): no 1, El paño moruno by Manuel de Falla