48 | JANUARY 19 • 2023

A

lisa Weilerstein has appeared around Michigan over her many years as a cel-
list — either as a soloist or with orchestras — but this month she is performing
alone for the Wharton Center for Performing Arts.
Her selections on the program are all by Bach and are his Cello Suites 1, 3 and 5.
They will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26, at Cobb Great Hall in East
Lansing.
“I chose the Bach suites because there is no repertoire like it for solo cello or
any instrument,
” said Weilerstein, recognized with a MacArthur Fellowship.
“The Bach suites, I think, come the closest to encapsulating life and one’s jour-
ney in life through music.
“I’m just very happy that finally this concert, canceled and rescheduled sev-
eral times because of the pandemic, is finally happening. I’ve recorded these
pieces in 2020.
”
Weilerstein’s most recent performance in Michigan was with the Detroit
Symphony Orchestra (DSO). She presented a Barber concerto in 2020.
“Every performance I’ve had in Michigan I’ve really enjoyed, and my last
experience there was just wonderful,
” she recalled, describing early ses-
sions with the DSO.
“I was finishing my senior year at Columbia University, and it was
around the times of final exams and papers being due. I was a history
major, and I remember having four concerts — Thursday at 8 p.m.,
Friday 11 in the morning and Friday and Saturday at 8.
“I had so many things due at the same time so basically I played the
concert on Thursday night and wrote 10 pages that night. I stayed up
until 3 in the morning. I woke up at 9:30 to be on stage at 11. I came
back and rushed to do another paper and concert.
”
She joked, “I just remember that whole time being this crazy blur
fueled by adrenalin. The concerts went incredibly well, and I remember
thinking maybe this is the way to play concerts.
”
Weilerstein’s musical interests can be traced in part to dad, violinist
Donald Weilerstein, and mom, pianist Vivian Hornik Weilerstein. The three
used to perform together, but the parents have been doing more teaching
and independent concerts.
“The cello is a kind of chameleon,
” the musician said. “It has the
widest range of any instrument from the deepest basso to the highest
coloratura soprano. Composers seem to have a soft spot for the cello.
“We have some of the most special repertoire that there is. It gets
the most beautiful and profound lines to play. It’s the most human
sounding of instruments. It’s the closest to the voice.
”
Weilerstein, entering her 40s, graduated from the Young Artist
Program at the Cleveland Institute of Music, studied at The Juilliard
School and earned a history degree from Columbia University. She has
performed in famed venues across America, Europe and Asia and has
completed many recordings.
At the end of the month, she is introducing a commissioned perfor-
mance project in Toronto.

Cellist Alisa Weilerstein to perform
in East Lansing Jan. 26.

Bach Cello Suites

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ARTS&LIFE
MUSIC