Alisa Weilerstein Performs at the White House: 3 of 8

[Skateingsniper]

i highly doubt that the president or most of the people in the room didn't understand the magnitude of that piece.

[monkeylard35]

Some people would say her performance was very passionate and dramatic.............. I would say she looks likes shes shitting out a two by four. her face and perfomance totally take away from the shitty music

[dhgcello]

@monkeylard35 You obviously don't have ANY respect or appreciation of music then. I say you have terrible taste, if you think this performance is bad, and if this piece is "shitty".

[aichan95]

i like this song reminds me of scottish themes and italian themes! XD and at some points tom and jerry

[redhotchiliangel]

Its a great cellist, But sinceraly i prefer other musicians in this particulary piece.

[Verified1]

To all the commenters who criticized the choice of program, just take a listen to the applause at the end. Give the artist, and the audience, some credit for their sophistication and taste. This was a wonderful performance of a brilliant composition. Wish I'd been there to hear it in person. If it's too complicated for you, or not to your taste, that's OK. When you are invited to perform at the WH, you can play what ever you like. Turn off your computer and start practicing.

[Kwert]

To people who question her choice of rep for this... What's wrong with Kodaly? Help people realise exactly what the cello is capable of. What a wide range of colours and textures!

[Kwert]

@Kwert Also this is pretty much in the standard rep for cello at this point, even if your average joe wouldn't know it.

[KPcello]

she played beautifully in many other pieces..

[musicgirl2318]

My dad and i play cello, and I was told that this is like, one of the MOST COMPLICATED SOLO PIECE EVER. You have to lower the C and the G string one note. I say anyone who can play this song is a super star!!!!! AMAZING!!!!!!!

[musicgirl2318]

My dad and i play cello, and I was told that this is like, one of the MOST COMPLICATED SOLO PIECE EVER. You have to lower the C and the G string one note. I say anyone who can play this song is a super star!!!!! AMAZIND!!!!!!!

[Bullz4eva93]

I am a huge fan of this cellist, I've seen her live playing Dvorak's and Haydn's cello concertos, she is a virtuoso. However, I'm not a fan of this piece she performed by any piece, it seems completely random with strange phrasing.

[nap3848]

i like it but some where in there to me it looked like she just started to beat the thing randomly

[1MarieAnne1]

When I discovered this cellist, I was not crazy about obvious J.du Pré image inspiration, and I was hoping she would do something her own way. I was happy to find out this video that raised critics eyebrows and I like her boldness to be different in holding the instrument and repertoir choice.

[oocloud3]

An artist stretching beyond her technical limits. Her performance was full of mistakes, exactly what happens when you focus on emotionality and ignored/avoid the technical elements of instrumental playing. Starker has it right!

[Darklier]

Sometimes it doesn't matter the audience that you play for, the artist picks a piece that speaks to him/her. As long as she feels it, the audience will be intrigued. You can watch her face and see every emotion the song gives her: anger, fear, love, hesitation, sorrow. It spoke to her on the deepest level that forms a bond between artist and instrument. She is truly inspiring and fascinating to watch. Beautiful.

[Porkaleena]

6:54

[HydroxicAcidBoy]

God blind me, that was somewhat technical. Took a couple of views to begin to appreciate it but it's definitely a grower. Thank you.

[astroscorp2]

I'm not a cello player but I think this was amazing and inspiring and a perfect piece for the evening. Why does it have to be the 'typical classical way'? This is obviously an unorthodox piece I would assume requiring an unorthodox approach. You may call this 'wrong' but it isn't you playing at the WH. It seems a beautiful extension of the classical tradition to the strange and parallelistic modern world. Beautiful. Amazing. Bravo.

[TheDuoUNCC]

I wonder why she chose this song to perform. Performing for a crowd like this I probably would have pick something more melodic....something more along the lines of a crowd pleaser (Not the Prelude). Not that they didn't enjoy this! Just my humble input. :)

[kirinphoebe1]

@TheDuoUNCC I agree that other pieces might be more popular, but this is a fantastic piece that is in the standard cello repertoire. Music should stretch the imagination, open the ears, stimulate the mind, and not just be "easy to listen to." And I'd say the same about church too. We need to be invited to think and receive new ideas, not just be lulled into somnolence.

[Koyamangi]

a great piece in an amazing performance

[scrisan1]

why does she hold the bow in a baroque style???i agree with helenachocolate

[frdrcksncn]

hmm...this might just be me, I'm a cellist too...,but couldn't she have chosen other pieces?!

[HelenaxChocolate]

I like the typical classical cello better.. and she plays wrong in a technical way, how she holds her cello for example. she's good in speed and her left hand is good, right she is holding it in a not accepted way

[hiQer]

No offence, but I dont like this ugly intens way of playin Cello.. Keep it simple keep in tone this was like a horror Movie."

[aabaker22]

I've gotten so used to Starker's recording that this just sounded weird on the first listen, but when I got past that I heard her great interpretation. Very different but just as valid.

[alvarobitran]

great playing!!

[Bentland]

so boring music..why does she play THIS in WHITEHOUSE???????

[kirinphoebe1]

@Bentland Because it is a fantastic piece of music, because she plays it beautifully, and because classical music is not supposed to be wallpaper.

[charlieboy09]

She does it like she can't hit a wrong note. When she places her fingers down it's done with such confidence that it appears as if she's been told that she's incapable of hitting a wrong note, so she just throws her fingers on to the finger board and plays like she hasn't one iota of worry that a wrong note will sound. And do you know how she got to that point in her musicianship? She practices for hours, and hours, and hours, and hours.

[celloWiz10]

She's amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[had9s8888]

NO SOUND.... !

[volk410]

Beautiful and inspired performance of one of the world's greatest pieces for solo cello. Very vivid and rhapsodic. For those who hated it, maybe just try to learn a little bit more about it? Read about Bartók and Kodály, and their importance in Hungarian art music? Watch the YouTube vidoes of Janos Starker playing the entire Kodály sonata? Seriously, there's a tremendous amount of beauty in this music, if you just allow yourself to experience it. Thank you, Alisa!

[enduggy]

@volk410 Hey if its really good music don't you think it should be able to stand on its own and not need anything else for listeners to appreciate the "tremendous amount of beauty" in it?

If I follow your advice, doesn't it seem like trying too hard to convince myself to like it, when in the first place I should not need any convincing? After all, ears are enough to figure it out. Maybe you like it for other reasons besides the sound?

[celloWiz10]

you're really horrible

[celloWiz10]

@celloWiz10 I never posted that

[TheDuoUNCC]

@celloWiz10 lol

[calderwis]

Great piece, but it really should have been a Bach Cello Suite. Those are real crowd-pleasers!

[josealonsoleon]

I love the subtitles, very explicit and detailed? we immediately understand what is going on.....:-)

[kt10585]

I dont know... I guess ths venue is as good as any. Th artist are good at what they do. Its a rflection of what it is and what its going to be, I think. What are these pieces an why were they chosen? What do they represent? Are they tellin us something?

[BrahmsConcerto]

kodaly was definitely not the best choice for this venue. bach would have been a sure bet. this sonata is very far out and definitely not for unseasoned listeners since the harmonies and character are so odd. great performance though.

[kirinphoebe1]

@BrahmsConcerto Maybe people who are "unseasoned listeners" are stretched musically, emotionally, and intellectually by hearing this. Maybe there are "seasoned listeners" in the audience, too...?

[brumagemm]

Wow, she's just so deft with that left hand, I can tell she's practiced a lifetime for this.

[iLuvAkeys4ever]

That was pure Genius, ha ha

[flushnut]

Beautiful!

[kt10585]

this is friggn crazy! these people sitting around listening to this melancholly desolate chaotic destructive-sounding music is --- wild

[PTurchan1]

What music would you prefer they be listening to?

[celach]

@PTurchan1: the chaconne from bach's 2nd violin partita, haha

[brumagemm]

Like BrahmsConcerto said, this piece is a bit deeper than that, and requires a little perspective.

[TheJawsusNSexmanShow]

2nd

[HansKJohnson]

AWSOME!

1st!

GO AMERICA :PPP