Passion and Precision: Alisa Weilerstein and Inon Barnatan at the Wigmore
Music by Brahms, Stravinsky and Steven Mackey
Alisa Weilerstein and Inon Barnatan
Wigmore Hall
Stalls D4, £5 (under-35)
4 November 2017
Wigmore page
On the basis exclusively of this recital it would seem cellist Alisa Weilerstein at some point in her career has decided that the communication of passion is the most important thing in a musical performance. I can imaginee composers for whose music this approach would make sense, but Brahms and Stravinsky are not of their number.
The consequence is that Weilerstein becomes a bit of a mystery. Obviously lots of time and effort has gone into getting her to where she is today. She must be a good musician. But her performance of the Brahms cello suites nos. 1 and 2 is sadly best described as vulgar; and her rendition of Stravinsky’s Suite italienne made me appreciate newly the high standard of performance one usually enjoys in London. In the former while the sweeping gestures were there, lost were the nuance and wit, and in the latter Weilerstein simply couldn’t get her hands around the notes. For both it felt as though Weilerstein were trying to force treacle through a mesh of fine glass capillaries.
I didn’t enjoy the remaining piece on the programme, the UK premiere of Steven Mackey’s Through Your Fingers, but David suggested that Weilerstein’s tendency to focus on the arc at hand, rather than its place in the whole, exacerbated the piece’s magpie qualities into a kind of schizophrenia. Through it all, pianist Inon Barnatan provided sterling support.
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