The Allure of Aspen with Alisa Weilerstein

As told to Alisa Weilerstein
Images by Mike Grittani, Eduardus Lee, Elle Logan, Carlin Ma, Tessa Nojaim, and Graham Northrup

I spent every summer of my childhood in Aspen. In my mind, Aspen is green. It’s wildflowers, Cathedral Lake, driving up to the Maroon Bells afterhours to look at the stars. I thought it was completely normal to spend a few weeks each year hiking beautiful mountains and making amazing friends. I would go to two concerts a day, eat at Paradise Bakery, and walk on the pedestrian mall and watch jugglers and all the wonderful wildlife. Once I saw a couple of bears walking across the street—that’s something you see in Aspen and not many other places.

My parents were teachers and performers at the Aspen Music Festival and School. They were incredible musicians in their own right. They practiced every morning of my life, and they did that in Aspen, too. I was practicing a lot in the practice rooms on campus, then I became a formal student at age 13. I started playing professionally when I was 14 years old, performing as a soloist with orchestras around the world.

In regular school, I always felt like a bit of a misfit. Summer in Aspen was a time to find my people. The relationships with my teachers and my peers are ones I still have to this day. I’m 41 now and still thinking about the friends I made when I was 13.

I moved through very important milestones as a kid and as a teenager in Aspen. One summer I was placed in the opera orchestra, which meant that I was sitting in the opera pit and learning the two wonderful operas The Magic Flute and La traviata. Playing opera is not something I ever expected to do, and I don’t do it anymore, but seeing how it all works and getting to know the conductors and how they relate to the singers was really fascinating. The following year I played Mahler’s Ninth Symphony inside the orchestra. I was already playing as a soloist around the world, but being inside the opera orchestra and the bigger orchestra—that was mind-blowing.

If it was a particularly wonderful day, I would take my cello out to practice at the Roaring Fork River nearby, where I could hear the rapids and the birds and look at the mountains. There’s also another side to Aspen—the violent storms. Many a concert has been interrupted by a massive thunderstorm, and because of the tent, you can really hear it. If you come to an intimate spot in a concert, it’s possible that the sound could get completely wiped out by Mother Nature!

My last year as a student in Aspen, I was 18. Eight years later, when I was 26 years old, I returned to the festival as a guest artist. I gave a masterclass, played a concerto with the festival orchestra, and played some chamber music. I’ve been coming pretty much every year since then. Both of my babies—I have a 7-year-old and a 14-month-old—spent the first summer of their lives in Aspen. Taking them to the Maroon Bells as small babies was like a benediction of sorts. Right around 6 p.m., when the light is starting to soften, it’s just so moving.

My favorite things about Aspen are the festival, the people, and the marrying of nature, music, and joy. I’m excited to bring my children back. I’ll be working with my husband this summer—he’s conducting the orchestra—so it will be nice to be there together. It’s a really beautiful thing to bring family, past and present, together.