For cellist Alisa Weilerstein — as for all of us — life in 2021 involves a lot of rescheduling. For example, as recently as November, Weilerstein still planned to perform the complete Bach suites for cello in Santa Barbara in April of 2021. Her acclaimed recording of these legendary works, available since April 2020, set the stage for an international tour, and UCSB Arts & Lectures had contracted to present the program at the Music Academy’s Hahn Hall, where it would have been a music fan’s dream come true. Alas, this has been a season of such in-person dreams deferred.
Although that engagement had to be abandoned due to the persistence of COVID, Arts & Lectures will nevertheless give audiences a great chance to experience Weilerstein’s music on Friday, February 12, when she and pianist Inon Barnatan will perform as part of the online House Calls series. The concert features works by Manuel De Falla and Sergei Rachmaninoff, and it will be available beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday. Following that initial screening of the music, Weilerstein will appear live on Zoom to answer questions and spend time with the audience.
Soon after the pandemic lockdown began in March of 2020, Weilerstein became one of the first classical musicians to post daily live performances to social media. For her #36DaysofBach project, she played one movement from the cello suites per day from March 17 until April 21. The series pleased her online fans and professional music critics alike, with the press extolling not only the virtuosity of her playing but also the appropriateness of the material to our collective need for reassurance in that difficult time.