Thu 11/6 @ 7PM
Fri @ 11/7 4PM
Sat 11/8 @ 8PM
Sun 11/9 @ 3PM
The story of how cello superstar and McArthur foundation “genius” grant winner Alisa Weilerstein took up her craft is cute, but as the late radio commentator Paul Harvey used to say, here’s “the rest of the story.” While her first instrument may very well have been a Rice Krispies box cello her grandmother made for her when she had chicken pox at age two and a half, her parents are prominent classical musicians, and not coincidentally, her brother is a violinist and conductor. So taking up cello as a toddler didn’t come about as some happy accident.
The now 32-year-old musician made her debut with the Cleveland Orchestra at the age of 13 and has been back many times since. The orchestra welcomes her back this weekend for three concerts, conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero. She’ll join them in playing in Edward Elgar’s 1919 Cello Concerto, a staple of the cello repertoire, which she’ll also be playing in Dallas, London, Tokyo, Stuttgart, and the Netherlands this season.
The orchestra’s program will stay within the bounds of the 20th century, also including Arvo Pärt’s 1977 Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten and John Adams’ 1985 Harmonielehre.
Tickets are $29-$149.
On Friday afternoon at Severance Hall’s Reinberger Auditorium, Weilerstein will conduct a masterclass with students from area colleges. It’s free and open to the public, but you need a ticket, which you can reserve at the Cleveland Orchestra website.