A cellist finds a way to mourn his 16 year-old son
RIPFrom notes to Pieter Wispelwey’s new album:
‘In the case of Kodály’s Sonata both bottom strings are tuned down a semitone: our lives have been retuned and we have to make do. There is a glimpse of hope in the fact that meaningful things can be said on a wrongly tuned cello… Words will fall short when describing this piece that is so rich in emotions and atmospeheres: one big orgy of resilience, vulnerability, despair, creativity and energy…’
Dorian Bellamy Wispelweij, son of Peter and his wife, the Dunedin Consort oboist Alexandra Bellamy, died in March 2022.
A beautiful description. Sympathy to the family on this dreadful loss.
Pieter came and played the complete Bach suites over three concerts in our local concert series. Such was the passion and power of his playing, one of the audience members walked out at the end of the first concert and burst into tears. He held us all spellbound. The tragedy he and Alex have undergone is hard to take in, terrible things happen to wonderful people, but it does seem to have contributed to Pieter being completely on fire as a performer. He is a formidable artist.
Wispelwey is probably the biggest cellist of the current times. His works are among the best things ever recorded for cello. His tone is superb. I am so sorry for his loss…and we are blessed that he recorded the Kodaly Sonata once more, I am looking forward to listening and I’m sure he will blow us away….
The Kodaly cello sonata does ponder events that we struggle to understand.
Unimaginable grief for this family. How do you keep going after this?