The Recovery of Paradise: Blackford Cello Concerto Alisa Weilerstein, Czech Philharmonic & Tomáš Netopil

• Richard Blackford (b. 1954): Concerto for Cello and Orchestra "The Recovery of Paradise":
• 1 Blackford: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra "The Recovery of Paradise": I. Devil Winds of Santa Ana 07:13
• 2 Blackford: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra "The Recovery of Paradise": II. Cry The Scorched Earth 08:47
• 3 Blackford: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra "The Recovery of Paradise": III. Rhyme and Rhythm of The Rain 04:05
• 4 Blackford: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra "The Recovery of Paradise": IV. The Recovery of Paradise 09:52
• Total Runtime 29:57

Info zu The Recovery of Paradise: Blackford Cello Concerto

PENTATONE präsentiert Richard Blackfords kraftvolles neues Cellokonzert, das von der Tschechischen Philharmonie für die gefeierte Cellistin Alisa Weilerstein in Auftrag gegeben wurde. Orchester und Solistin führen dieses Stück unter der Leitung von Tomáš Netopil auf. Das Konzert ist in vier lebhafte Sätze gegliedert und verwandelt die rohen Kräfte der Natur – Erde, Luft, Wasser und Feuer – in eine zutiefst persönliche und emotional aufgeladene musikalische Reise. Von den heftigen Winden der Waldbrände in Kalifornien bis zur stillen Widerstandsfähigkeit einer Stadt, die aus der Asche wiederauferstanden ist, reflektiert das Werk mit eindrucksvoller Unmittelbarkeit über Klimakatastrophen und menschliche Beharrlichkeit. Weilersteins beeindruckende Darbietung und die bewegenden Klangtexturen der Tschechischen Philharmonie erwecken dieses zeitgemäße und transformative Werk in einer ebenso dringlichen wie unvergesslichen Aufnahme zum Leben.

Alisa Weilerstein, Cello
Czech Philharmonic
Tomáš Netopil, Dirigent

Alisa Weilerstein
is one of the foremost cellists of our time. Known for her consummate artistry, emotional investment, and rare interpretive depth, she was recognized with a MacArthur “genius grant” Fellowship in 2011. Today her career is truly global in scope, taking her to the most prestigious international venues for solo recitals, chamber concerts, and concerto collaborations.

With her multi-season solo cello project, “FRAGMENTS,” Weilerstein aims to reimagine the concert experience. Comprising six programs, each an hour long, the series sees her weave together the 36 movements of Bach’s solo cello suites with 27 new commissions in a multisensory production by Elkhanah Pulitzer. In the 2024-25 season, she premieres FRAGMENTS 3 at San Diego’s Jacobs Music Center, gives the New York premieres of FRAGMENTS 2 and 3 at New York’s Carnegie Hall, and performs the complete cycle at Charleston’s Spoleto Festival USA.

Weilerstein regularly appears alongside preeminent conductors with the world’s major orchestras. Versatile across the cello repertoire’s full breadth, she is a leading exponent of its greatest classics and an ardent proponent of contemporary music, who has premiered important new concertos by Pascal Dusapin, Matthias Pintscher, and Joan Tower. In 2024-25, she brings to life three more concertos, premiering Thomas Larcher’s with the New York Philharmonic and Bavarian Radio Symphony, Richard Blackford’s with the Czech Philharmonic, and Gabriela Ortiz’s with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at L.A.’s Walt Disney Concert Hall, Bogotá’s Teatro Mayor, and Carnegie Hall. Her other 2024-25 highlights include season-opening concerts with the San Diego and Kansas City Symphonies; returns to the Berlin Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus, and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestras; and duo recitals with Inon Barnatan at Stanford University and in Boston’s Celebrity Series.

As an authority on Bach’s music for unaccompanied cello, in spring 2020 Weilerstein released a best-selling recording of his solo suites for Pentatone, streamed them in her innovative #36DaysOfBach project, and deconstructed his beloved G-major prelude in a Vox.com video, now viewed more than 2.2 million times. Her discography also includes chart-topping albums and the winner of BBC Music’s “Recording of the Year” award.

Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at nine years old, Weilerstein is a staunch advocate for the T1D community. She lives with her husband, Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare, and their two young children.

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