Ravinia 2019, Issue 6, Week 11

ALISA WEILERSTEIN, cello Cellist Alisa Weilerstein made her Cleveland Orchestra debut at age 13, and less than two years later she made her first appearance at Carnegie Hall with the New York Youth Sym- phony. She went on to study at the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Young Artist Program and later earned a degree in history from Columbia University. Weilerstein toured Venezuela with the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra and Gustavo Dudamel in 2009, and she has since returned to the ensemble numerous times to teach and perform as part of its El Sistema mu- sic education program. In 2011 she was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow, having previ- ously been honored with an Avery Fisher Ca- reer Grant and both Lincoln Center’s Leonard Bernstein Award and Martin E. Segal Prize. A committed champion of new music, Weilerstein has worked closely with composers Osvaldo Golijov, whose works Azul for cello and orches- tra and Omaramor for solo cello she frequently performs, and Lera Auerbach, with whom she gave the premiere of the composer’s 24 preludes for cello and piano. She recently gave the world premieres of Pascal Dusapin’s Outscape and Matthias Pintscher’s Un despertar with the Chi- cago and Boston Symphony Orchestras, respec- tively, which commissioned the works for her. For the Decca label, in 2012 she performed con- certos by Elgar and Carter with Daniel Baren- boim and the Berlin Staatskapelle on an album that quickly made many “best of ” lists, and in 2014 she recorded Dvořák’s Cello Concerto with Jiří Bělohlávek and the Czech Philharmon- ic. Weilerstein has also released two chamber music recordings on Decca: a compilation of 20th-century solo-cello works and an album of Rachmaninoff ’s and Chopin’s cello sonatas with pianist Inon Barnatan. Inaugurating her new partnership with the Pentatone label, she most recently recorded Haydn’s two cello con- certos and Schoenberg’s Transfigured Night with the Trondheim Soloists, which she is an artistic partner of. With her parents (violinist Donald and pianist Vivian Hornik), she is part of the Weilerstein Trio, which is in residence at the New England Conservatory. Alisa Weilerstein made her Ravinia debut in 1998 and tonight makes her fifth appearance at the festival. 6:00 PM SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 2019 BENNETT GORDON HALL RAVINIA’S STEANS MUSIC INSTITUTE PROGRAM FOR SINGERS This evening’s program will feature folk songs from around the world. Join dramaturg and program curator Cori Ellison for a pre-concert talk at 5:30 p.m. The participants’ biographies can be found in the RSMI program book distributed at this concert, and the evening’s complete repertoire in the included program insert. 7:30 PM SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 2019 PAVILION CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA KRZYSZTOF URBAŃSKI, conductor ITZHAK PERLMAN, violin KILAR Orawa ** BRUCH Violin Concerto No. 1 Prelude: Allegro moderato Adagio Finale: Allegro energico Itzhak Perlman –Intermission– MUSSORGSKY Pictures at an Exhibition (orch. Ravel) Promenade 1. Gnomus (The Gnome) Promenade 2. Il vecchio castello (The Old Castle) Promenade 3. Tuileries 4. Bydlo Promenade 5. Ballet of the Chicks in Their Shells 6. Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle 7. The Market Place at Limoges 8. Catacombs (Roman Sepulcher— Cum mortuis in lingua mortua) 9. The Hut on Fowl’s Legs (Baba-Yaga) 10. The Great Gate of Kiev ** First performance at Ravinia and by the CSO Ravinia expresses its appreciation for the generous support of Featured Sponsor Harriet Bernbaum, in memory of Keren-Or Bernbaum and Harry H. Bernbaum . RAVINIA MAGAZINE | AUGUST 12 – AUGUST 18, 2019 98