Exquisite. Alisa Weilerstein’s interpretation of the Bach Cello Suites is for me nothing short of transformational. I'm an amateur cellist and have CDs of all the major cellists playing the suites – three by Yo-Yo Ma, two by Janos Starker, two by Pieter Wispelwey, and versions by Pablo Casals, Pierre Fournier, Paul Tortelier, Jacqueline Du Pre, Maurice Gendron, Lynn Harrell, Mischa Maisky, Anner Bylsma, Jaap Ter Linden, Yuli Turovsky, Ralph Kirshbaum, Antonio Meneses, Truls Mork, Maria Kliegel, Mstislav Rostropovich, Steven Isserlis, Daniel Muller-Schott, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Zuill Bailey, Matt Haimovitz, and others – and Weilerstein’s is now my desert island choice. I was skeptical going in, having been distracted by her extravagant in-person body motion. But this great music is to be heard, not seen. It is uniquely gorgeous and gripping, technically brilliant and well-recorded. The preludes, allemandes, and sarabandes are especially moving, and most of the rest is joyous. Her phrasing and use of rubato do with these suites what Murray Perahia and Simone Dinnerstein do with Bach's Goldberg Variations for keyboard. Her work here moved me to tears on first hearing, and continues to engage me on subsequent hearings. I look forward to enjoying it again and again for years to come.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFY3GoCx_sM&list=OLAK5uy_kM_ZxEAoco4I844xNlSvDl4nNYR_q0hbU&index=14