San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
Silver lining for cellist
COVID lockdown led to a ‘therapeutic’ opportunity for Alisa Weilerstein to record a new album at The Conrad
Balancing an infant with a whirlwind career as one of classical music’s most in-demand cellists comes easily for Alisa Weilerstein.
“Elina will be 4 months old on Tuesday and has been on 11 trips,” she said, speaking from her home in San Diego. “She’s been to five countries, including this one.”
That’s no big surprise, given that Weilerstein and her husband — San Diego Symphony Music Director Rafael Payare — are touring musicians. Payare is also the music director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. The couple has another daughter, 6-year-old Ariadna.
The two musicians will perform Friday and Saturday at the Rady Shell at Jacobs Park. Payare will conduct the San Diego Symphony’s season-closing Jacobs Masterworks concerts. Weilerstein is the featured soloist.
Also this year, she released a new album, “Beethoven Cello Sonatas.” The cellist and her frequent musical partner, pianist Inon Barnatan, recorded it in La Jolla in October of 2020. Pentatone has released it digitally and will release the physical album next month.
When asked how her family manages it all, Weilerstein answered more than once: “We have to be organized.”
For the cello star, who has had Type 1 diabetes since she was 9, that mantra is even more important. Happily, her two childbirths were problem-free.
“The (medical professionals) classify you as high risk as soon as they see Type 1 diabetes on your chart,” she said. “I managed it extremely well, in consultation with my doctors. Both babies were born ultra-healthy and robust.
“I can expect to not have complications and to live life as fully as anyone else. (Monitoring) is crucial. It all comes down to managing it — which is a lot.”
Despite all the organizing, there is room for relaxation. The family listens to Bach’s Goldberg Variations every day. It’s not uncommon, Weilerstein said lightheartedly, to see interpretative dancing in the house.
Fantastic recording session
A serendipitous result of the pandemic, “Beethoven Cello Sonatas” was recorded in the Baker-baum Concert Hall at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center in La Jolla.
In 2020, Weilerstein and Barnatan were on tour with a program centered on the centennial of Beethoven’s birth. That March, the tour was scuttled by the COVID-19 pandemic. But Barnatan, the music director of the La Jolla Music Society’s Summerfest — which calls The Conrad home — drove across the country to San Diego for the online iteration of that year’s festival.
“I felt so fortunate because I love San Diego,” Barnatan recalled, speaking from his New York home. “We could use this amazing venue, which has a fabulous piano. It’s rare to have a house piano you’d want to record on. It was this perfect setup.”
Throughout their many years of collaboration, Weilerstein and Barnatan would talk about recording the Beethoven sonatas. The pandemic restrictions made The Conrad more available and the project more possible.
“We were like: “OK, let’s do this. It’s now or never,” she said.
“Those three days recording in The Conrad were fantastic. It was therapeutic.”
Barnatan agreed, adding: “It was a difficult period for everybody — not a lot of music was happening. We suddenly could play together this bread and butter of the repertoire. It has complexity and depth you can sink your teeth into. It’s not often you get to record with a friend. These sessions were particularly fun.”
Weilerstein especially appreciates the Beethoven sonatas because the piano and cello end up at the same musical level.
“The first sonata is very much a piano sonata with cello accompaniment,” she said. “With the second sonata, it’s already been a little more integrated. The third sonata is the first time historically where there is a truly equal partnership between the cello and the piano.
“It’s clear, right from the getgo, because the cello plays the first phrase alone. At that point, Beethoven’s breaking the rules. It might have been written yesterday in terms of how harmonically adventurous it is.”
Passion abounds
At this weekend’s San Diego Symphony concert at The Shell, Weilerstein will perform Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto. She fell in love with the piece, now a standard in her repertoire, when she was a child.
“The great thing about playing this masterpiece is that there’s always something to learn from the score every time I return to it,” she said. “You can’t get tired of music like that. So that’s how it naturally stays fresh. I don’t get tired of it; I evolve with it.”
Barnatan noted that the most iconic recording of Elgar’s Cello Concerto is by the late cellist Jacqueline du Pré, who is often identified with the piece.
“It’s a real testament to Alisa that she manages to find her own path,” he said. “Her performance is as compelling as any I’ve heard. It suits her personality — that passionate intensity is something she brings like few other cellists.”
To conclude the Friday and Saturday concerts, Maestro Payare will conduct Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, a dynamic salute to humanity. The San Diego Master Chorale will join the orchestra for the beloved “Ode to Joy” movement.
“It’s a fantastic program,” Weilerstein said. “And a very emotional one.”
What does Weilerstein think about her husband’s conducting of Beethoven’s Ninth?
“I haven’t heard him conduct it!” she said. “I’m so excited to hear it!
“As a conductor and musician, he brings a passion and intellect to everything he approaches. We love working together because we both do that. We are very happily married. But we are together for many reasons, so I can praise the conductor with objectivity!”
Wood is a freelancer.