Virtuoso Cellist Alisa Weilerstein performs next week in Naples. Hailed a child prodigy, Weilerstein made her professional debut performing with the Cleveland Orchestra when she was 13-years-old. She played New York’s famed Carnegie Hall for the first time at 15. In 2011 she was awarded a McArthur Fellowship, often dubbed the ‘Genius Grant,’ and continues to maintain an ambitious performance schedule of about 140 concerts a year.
Weilerstein performs at the Naples Philharmonic March 12 with Israeli pianist Inon Barnatan and the London-based chamber ensemble Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. She talks with WGCU’s John Davis about connecting with the music she performs, particularly Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor and how she got started on the cello.