| Date and venue | Title |
|---|---|
| 21-Apr-2013 The Royal Conservatory of Music, TELUS Centre, Koerner Hall | Alisa Weilerstein and Inon Barnatan rule the realm of sonatas for cello and piano |
 Beethoven started it, the piano’s duologue with the cello, in 1801, with his Seven Variations on “Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen” from Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Beethoven himself, and many composers from Brahms (1862) through Lera Auerbach (2002) continued to ornament this form. In 1968, Jacqueline du Pré and Daniel Barenboim, with their recording of Brahms’ Cello Sonata no. 1, reigned as the power-couple of the genre.Read full review... | |
| 27-Sep-2012 Bridgewater Hall | The Hallé and Mark Elder: Stravinsky, Shostakovich and Holst |
 A packed hall, including several primary schools and a handful of mayors, attended for a 20th-century triptych. One suspected that most were there for Holst’s The Planets, but it was the first half’s Stravinsky and Shostakovich which were most revelatory tonight.
Read full review... | |
| 7-Jun-2012 Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ: Main Hall | A fearless Shostakovich by Weilerstein and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra |
 The Mahler Chamber Orchestra presented a Russian program with a twist; “A Russian Flirt with Haydn”. All four works and three composers that graced the stage were influenced by Haydn, most obviously Schnittke and his Moz-Art à la Haydn. The music worked well together, though I would suspect that this is more due to the Russian background than Haydn’s influence. Still, with this concert and the rest of the program this year, the Holland Festival has once again established itself as one of the most exciting cultural festivals in The Netherlands.
Read full review... | |
| 9-Dec-2011 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | An heroic evening from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra |
| 'Hero / Antihero' was how the Sydney Symphony Orchestra entitled their latest musical offering at Sydney Opera House. The title, of course, was referring to the anti-hero in Tchaikovsky's Voyevoda and the musical hero of Beethoven in his Eroica Symphony, which needs no introduction. However, 'Hero' might also have referred to solo cellist Alisa Weilerstein and guest conductor Osmo Vänskä. I would challenge anyone who claims to have seen a more thrilling display of cello virtuosity than that displayed by Weilsterstein in Prokofiev's Symphony-Concerto. Read full review... | |
