It’s summertime, and the classical musicians have all disappeared. No, it’s not a classical music-specific alien body snatching situation. It’s just that they’re all at music festivals! Because we miss them, we’ve decided to follow the musicians to a different fest each summer. This year, we head to the Aspen Music Festival! In our four-show series, we’ll be interviewing festival leaders, musicians, and whoever else will talk to us.

In this, the fourth and final episode of our miniseries, we speak with cellist Alisa Weilerstein about music (and the composers who write it) for solo cello. You’ll learn about the All-Stars of the cello world, unexplained gaps in cello music history will be explained, and – perhaps most importantly – you’ll learn how to pronounce the name “Kodaly”.

Music in this episode:

• Music for Children, Op. 65 Arr. Piatigorsky – March
• Bach Suite No. 1 Prelude and Minuet (from Classic FM YouTube video)
• Sonata for Solo Cello, Op.8 – 3. Allegro molto vivace
• Omaramor For Solo Cello
• Suite For Solo Cello – 3. Intermezzo e Danza Finale

Audio production by Todd “Team Edward” Hulslander with sparkling by Dacia Clay and editing by Mark DiClaudio and possibly Nick Dulworth.

For more about Alisa Weilerstein: www.alisaweilerstein.com For more about the Aspen Music Festival: www.aspenmusicfestival.com