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Yo-Yo Ma Discusses Making Music  

Yo-Yo Ma Invites You To A Special Party >

Behind the scenes at Yo-Yo Ma's Photoshoot  
Be the first to get an exclusive sneak peak behind the scenes at Yo-Yo's photo shoot to his new album being released Fall 2008.


Alex Ross interviews Yo-Yo about "New Impossibilities"  
Read all about it at The Rest Is Noise

Yo-Yo Ma's New Impossibilities Available Now!  
Yo-Yo Ma, Silk Road, and Chicago Symphony Orchestra Brings Us 'New Impossibilities'

Always eager to break down barriers and inspire new platforms for learning, cellist Yo-Yo Ma wanted to see what would happen if the cultural institutions of one city focused all of their energies on a single event. Working with the city of Chicago, together they embarked on the yearlong city-wide celebration SILK ROAD CHICAGO. Inspired by the art and culture of the historic Silk Road, SILK ROAD CHICAGO ran from June 2006 to June 2007 and was created in partnership with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the Chicago Office of Tourism, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Art Institute of Chicago. From concerts and exhibitions to staged readings, film, dance and other art forms, there was a myriad of ways to trace the Silk Road through Chicago.

The culmination and one of the highlights of the celebration was a series of concerts Yo-Yo Ma and his Silk Road Ensemble performed April 9–21. Joining the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on April 12, 13 and 17, Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble gave the world premiere of Ambush from Ten Sides which is based on a traditional Chinese melody. On April 15 and 20, Ma and the virtuoso artists from around the world that comprise the Silk Road Ensemble performed traditional and new works that are influenced by the rich sounds of the Silk Road.

From these concerts, on July 31, Sony Classical will release a new CD of selected works from these once-in-a-lifetime performances. Preview this release here.

You can purchase this new release at Borders, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony Music Store, and on iTunes!

Yo-Yo Ma Brings Us New Impossibilities - A New Release Featuring Silk Road Project and Chicago Symphony Orchestra  

New Impossibilities, a new live recording by Sony Classical featuring multiple-Grammy-Award-winning cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the Silk Road Ensemble, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya, will be released on July 31.  The recording is the result of “Silk Road Chicago,” the first city-wide year-long residency spearheaded by the Silk Road Project, the organization founded by Ma as a catalyst for promoting innovation and learning through cross-cultural and interdisciplinary partnerships.  The Silk Road Project partnered with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the Chicago Office of Tourism from June 2006 to June 2007 in a program of exhibitions, concerts, workshops, readings, films, dance performances and educational events.  The new recording captures some of the concert highlights of “Silk Road Chicago.”

On April 15 and 20, 2007, Ma and the Ensemble interpreted tradition-based and/or newly composed works inspired by the historic splendors of the Silk Road. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra joined them on April 12, 13 and 17 for the world premiere of Ambush From Ten Sides for Pipa, Sheng, Guitar, Cello and Orchestra, an orchestral suite which depicts the fierce battle between the kingdoms of Han and Chu that led to the founding of the Han Dynasty.  The title New Impossibilities refers to Mark Twain’s description in Life on the Mississippi of the bracing energy and wide-open embrace of diversity that has always characterized the great city of Chicago and its people.  It also reflects the Silk Road Project’s vision of connecting the world’s neighborhoods by bringing together artists and audiences around the globe.

Later this season, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will also release a disc on their new in-house label CSO Resound that showcases the symphonic repertoire highlighted as part of Silk Road Chicago.  The CD, which was recorded live during performances in April at Symphony Center, features Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble in collaboration with the CSO under the direction of Miguel Harth-Bedoya on works by composers such as Bloch, Sharav, Harrison, and Prokofiev
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When Yo-Yo Ma founded the Silk Road Project in 1998, even he could not have imagined its eventual impact. Like the ancient pan-Asian trade route for which it was named, the Project links the East and West. But rather than spices, carpets and rich fabrics, the Silk Road Project showcases the equally intricate beauty of several centuries-worth of single and intersecting arts traditions. Meanwhile, the Silk Road Ensemble has explored folkloric and classical music styles from Iran, Armenia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, Korea, Japan, India and Turkey and new Silk Road Project-commissioned works by emerging composers from the above and other nations. Through nearly a decade of warmly inclusive adventures, Ma and his team of legendary virtuosi have charmed audiences of all ages and backgrounds, demystifying unfamiliar and sometimes enigmatic cultures and creating opportunities for positive face-to-face encounters during an era that sorely needs them.

The present disc commences with Rabih Abou-Khalil’s Arabian Waltz, a sexy, poly-rhythmic piece that gives the Ensemble’s string players, including a Persian kamancheh spike fiddle and a plucked Chinese pipa, plus a Japanese shakuhachi flute, a vigorous workout. Next is the Night of the Flying Horses.  Composed by Osvaldo Golijov, the three movements are redolent of Eastern European and Roma (Gypsy) themes and feature the shakuhachi and sheng, a Chinese mouth organ. Hai-Hai Huang’s Galloping Horses is a merrily witty sonic picture of Mongolian wild steeds on the move, with solos for pipa and double bass. Track four, the muscularly atonal, impressionistic Song of Eight Unruly Tipsy Poets, was composed by Chinese-born Zhou Long, who is now based in the USA. Kayhan Kalhor is a renowned exponent of the kamancheh and a noted composer. His The Silent City, scored for strings and percussion, is an elegy for the town of Halabja in Iraqi Kurdistan, which was destroyed in 1988.  Shristi, a work by famed tabla (Indian tuned drum) master Sandeep Das, depicts the Hindu god Shiva Nataraj and his drum in the act of creating the universe. On the world premiere of Ambush From Ten Sides, a Chinese traditional melody is arranged by Li Cang Sang and China Magpie into six sweepingly cinematic visions of war and its aftermath. The album concludes with Vocussion, a Silk Road audience favorite in which the five Ensemble members who created it explode into vocal percussion effects.

The Silk Road Project is featured on Sony Classical’s Web site at www.sonybmgmasterworks.com and on Yo-Yo Ma’s artist domain at www.Yo-YoMa.com. Additional information -- such as background on the performers and their instruments, plus concert schedules -- can be found on the Silk Road Project Web site at  www.silkroadproject.org.
An Intimate Journey through the music of Yo-Yo Ma, the popular podcast series featuring interviews with him discussing his life and career, continues with exclusive interviews with members of the Silk Road Ensemble as they discuss the recording of New Impossibilities.  The podcast can be accessed via the podcast section of Mr. Ma’s official website, http://www.yo-yoma.com.

Listen to Yo-Yo Ma's Appassionato feature on NPR's Weekend Edition  
NPR.org has the Yo-Yo Ma story from Weekend Edition 1/14 available for streaming from their website.  You can listen now!
Read the full Appassionato Liner Notes  
Appassionato

No one since Leonard Bernstein has personified the joy – or the passion – of music as has Yo-Yo Ma. That passion is obvious in the romantic themes of Appassionato. These selections, recorded between 1978 and 2006 and including 4 never-before-released tracks, tell a musical autobiography. And in a new interview with critic Ed Siegel, Ma discusses his relationships with other musicians, the value he places on family and community, and his desire to understand other cultures. Here, as in his concerts and other recordings, one can hear all those passions blending into a luminous whole.

***

Q: Yo-Yo, when you listen to a recording of great musicians performing together, it can seem like you're overhearing a conversation between two or more engaging people. Do you think of these collaborations as conversations?

A: Absolutely! Music, like good conversation, deals with ideas. I think of music as passionate narrative. In order to be passionate, you have to make yourself vulnerable, and in order to be vulnerable you have to have trust. To me, trust is the most vital element of any important relationship, and trust is essential to musical relationships. As I began to choose the tracks for Appassionato, my first reaction was, "My goodness, all these relationships over all these years."

I've got to tell you a story. It was 1978, and the day after we were married my wife Jill and I went down to the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina, which was a brand new festival then. So – new festival, historical, gorgeous place. While we were there, I got a call saying, "Can you come to Paris to record The Carnival of the Animals? Philippe Entremont is conducting." Sure, why not? I was in my twenties, I was just starting out as a professional musician, and I had tons of energy. I flew from Charleston to New York to Paris, landed at 7 o'clock in the morning. Twelve hours later, we recorded "The Swan" (track 8). And the next day I flew back to Charleston.

The next piece that I looked at for Appassionato was the Kabalevsky Concerto (track 6). It was Eugene Ormandy's last recording. Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra – these are musicians who were my heroes growing up. I was thrilled to have a chance to feel his conducting. And the legendary Ormandy sound – rich, lush and burnished – just to see the physical motions of that man, creating that sound with the orchestra, was amazing. Isaac Stern used to say that you could put Eugene Ormandy in front of any orchestra and within thirty minutes that orchestra's sound would start to take on qualities of the Philadelphia sound.

Of the musicians who came a generation or two ahead of you, the one you're most associated with is Isaac Stern. Listening to the Brahms "Double" Concerto (track 10) it sounds at one point as if he's a mentor calming down a younger, more hot-blooded man. It must have been something to have Isaac Stern in your camp.

Oh, it was really wonderful. Outside of my cello teacher, Leonard Rose, Isaac Stern was such a mentor and colleague and friend. I've known him since I was four years old.

There is something so extraordinary about the way Isaac Stern physically carved phrases. He was never not hot-blooded, but he didn't have overt sheen or vanity in his style of playing, so he made things count with less. His sound had a lot of character. I wanted to find the right way to match that and still be in the same range as the lush Chicago Symphony sound. It was an amazing experience to work with him and, you know, I miss him a lot. They don't make 'em like that anymore.

There are nine pianists on this recording. Do they each bring different shadings that you then match, or play off of, in some way? Like Jeffrey Kahane and the elegant, jazzy transcriptions that the two of you did together?

Every person brings in his or her personality and that creates a particular sound world. Jeff grew up in California. He played in a rock band and he played in a jazz band. He's an incredibly self-motivated, curious person, always exploring the world, and at the same time thinking about how music exists in a community. He brings all of those experiences to Gershwin (track 3). I first heard about Jeff because my wife, Jill, heard him play and talk at the Van Cliburn competition and she said, "He's really interesting. You guys should work together."

Kathy Stott, I met around 1978. Jill and I had rented a flat in London from Nigel Kennedy – now known as Kennedy – and we thought we had the flat to ourselves. One day, up comes Kathy. Nigel didn't tell Kathy he had rented the place to us, and he didn't tell us he had rented the place to Kathy. Fortunately, Kathy is an incredibly lovely, sensible, direct person. What could have become a serious conflict over space became a fabulous friendship. We started playing together a number of years later.

Kathy is actually more adventurous than I am as a musician – she's fearless. We've explored the music of Astor Piazzolla and Brazilian music, but when we decided to record a whole album together, the music had to be French. Having studied with Vlado Perlmuter at the Menuhin School, Kathy is deeply immersed in the French tradition. My father studied at the César Franck School, so I grew up with French music. We recorded the Franck Sonata in A Major, (track 2) and the last movement became part of Appassionato.

For me this album epitomizes the raison d'être of the Franck Sonata, which was written as a wedding gift from Franck to the great violinist Eugène Ysaÿe. The last movement has themes that are contrapuntal, one follows the other, like the resolution of a relationship in marriage.

You've often gone outside of the classical repertoire in collaborations. What led you to Mark O'Connor, Edgar Meyer and "First Impressions" (track 13) in 1995?

Well, that's an interesting story. The first time I heard Edgar perform, I was flabbergasted by his spectacular playing. So for years I thought, "This guy is amazing. I've got to follow what he's doing." And then I met Mark O'Connor at Stephane Grappelli's 80th birthday celebration at Carnegie Hall. I said to them, "We've got to get together." And they said to me, "We're happy to make a recording, but we have to meet once a month for a year just to work together and get used to one another. Otherwise it won't work." And about the second month in, I said, "Gee, it's sounding really good" and they sort of looked at me, not saying anything, and then I realized they didn't think it sounded that good. [laughs] To learn that style was a huge departure. I had to work really hard. It's like what Isaac Stern said, "In music it's not about the notes, it's what happens in between the notes."

This is the difference between being a consumer and being a participant. As a consumer, I thought, "Gee this music is great and I'd love to be in on it." But then as a participant, I realized it's not that easy. To really get inside it took a lot of time.

Playing with Mark and Edgar gave me new insight into how to play baroque music. So when I was re-recording the Bach Suites for the television series Inspired by Bach, I changed my bow grip and really thought differently. That led me to want to work with Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. What I love about Ton and the ABO is their passionate commitment to playing period instruments to the highest standards and with the greatest creativity. We recorded music by Boccherini – who was one of the first great cellists – Bach, and more recently, Vivaldi. For Appassionato I chose Vivaldi's "Winter" from The Four Seasons, (track 4) which I think is not just about the season but about a seasonal aspect of relationships.

I think you've said that it isn't much of a stretch from classical music to Astor Piazzolla.

Well, it is and it isn't. I don't tend to think in categories, so while some people would say that this album includes a lot of different kinds of music, I just think it's all great music. In terms of playing the music, though, I have to say that it is a stretch. I had a copy of the music for Piazzolla's "Le Grand Tango" which he wrote for Rostropovich. For a number of years I kept looking at it and thinking, "I don't get it." I couldn't find a way into the piece. And then Jeff Kahane and I went to Argentina, and I got a better understanding of Piazzolla's culture from the inside, and I started to understand his music.

I had the great joy and privilege of working with the guitarist Horacio Malvocino in 1997. Horacio was perhaps Piazzolla's oldest friend, and he told me that I had to play "Soledad" (track 11). He said it was the saddest piece that Piazzolla ever wrote, and if you know any of his music, you know that that's quite a statement. To me, "Soledad" (Solitude) contains an exquisite sense of longing, and what's more romantic than that? I wanted to include "Soledad" on Appassionato, but I needed a pianist. Osvaldo Golijov introduced me to Octavio Brunetti, who is a wonderful tango pianist. Within minutes it felt as if we'd been playing together for years.

And we have the choros "Doce de coco" (track 5) that I love so much, from Brazil. The choros is like the Brazilian equivalent of what fado is to Portugal. It's the longing, looking for a loved one. The great clarinetist Paquito D'Rivera likes to say that even though he is Cuban, his heart is half-Brazilian because he loves the music so much. I know exactly what he means. Romero Lubambo, the guitarist on this track, is a beautiful musician and he's the most gentle soul.

You've worked with almost all of today's best composers. Two of them on Appassionato – John Williams and Ennio Morricone – are perhaps best known for their film music.

John Williams has been a great friend. I love talking to him. He's very wide-ranging, always curious and looking for new things to learn. In addition to being an extraordinary composer, John is also a fabulous pianist, but he doesn't play that much anymore. I've been asking him to play with me for years, and he never said no, but somehow it just never worked out. I was so happy that he was willing to do this piano and cello version of a piece we had recorded for Memoirs of a Geisha. "Going to School" (track 1) is innocent love, first love – a wonderful sunny and youthful piece.

We have two Morricone tracks: "Nostalgia" (track 7) and "Gabriel's Oboe." I think "Gabriel's Oboe" (track 15) is one of the most overtly romantic pieces of music. It's so opulent. It has layers and layers and layers of emotion. Morricone has an unbelievable gift of melody.

That brings us to the Silk Road Project. Looking at your schedule, one might think that the last thing you need is another major project, but this one is particularly dear to you.

I think nobody grows up today listening to only one kind of music. There are great classical traditions everywhere. So between Persian classical music, Indian classical music, Azeri classical music, and so forth, there's so much to explore. In this day and age, we should know the world. Right? I think the best way to know the world is to become participants, rather than consumers. It is crucial to find generous people who want to share, who think: "This is what I know. You can get in on it."

So we have this piece that is actually sung on both sides of the border of Kazakhstan and China, "Swallow Song," (track 9) which is a love song. For Appassionato, Kojiro Umezaki and I created a version for Japanese bamboo flute (shakuhachi) and cello.

With the younger players, like Joel Fan who joins you for Mamiya's "Finnish Folk Song No. 4" (track 12), have you come full circle from being someone who was taken under the wing of Isaac Stern to now being the mentor yourself?

Well, I don't like to think of myself as a mentor. What I found out, in terms of being a parent, is that I learn so much from my two children. They see a different world than I see. As I get older and my own mentors age and die, working with younger people is incredibly stimulating because I get to see the world through their eyes. The younger people that I work with probably teach me more than I can give to them.

And what of your most famous collaborator, Emanuel Ax? By now, you must be able to have conversations without words.

We've known each other for thirty-five years now. It's wonderful. We're still great friends and continually experimenting with things. This album would not be complete if Manny wasn't part of it. One of the pieces we had never recorded was Song Without Words (track 14) by Mendelssohn.

You're right, we do have a shorthand. We know each other's timing really well – we kind of feel it. He has such a great sense of humor and we also have common core values. Manny and I go through different phases of life and we learn things and get back together, share what we've learned, and then go back off again. It's a very, very special relationship.
Listen to Appassionato!  
You can hear 30 second clips of all the tracks from Appassionato at iTunes


New Silk Road recording on InstantLive.com!  
Instant Live will be recording performances in Charlottesville, Norfolk, Detroit, Madison and Green Bay by the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma. Instant Live records, duplicates, and distributes high-quality live CD albums on site.  You can order any of the live CDs from the Instant Live website at: www.instantlive.com

YO-YO AND THE SILK ROAD ENSEMBLE LIVE EP EXCLUSIVELY ON iTUNES  
Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble present a 5-track EP recorded live on KCRW, available exclusively at the iTunes Music Store.

ESSENTIAL YO-YO MA IN STORES NOW!  
Essential Yo-Yo MaIn Stores Now: The Essential Yo-Yo Ma.

Time and time again, Yo-Yo Ma has captivated audiences with his stunning masterpieces and truly awe-inspiring performances. The Essential Yo-Yo Ma 2-Disc set includes 35 of Yo-Yo Ma's greatest masterpieces ranging from The Swan from "Carnival of the Animals", Cristal, Gabriel's Oboe and even the epic The Eternal Vow from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

Available online, from your local retailer or direct from sonymusicstore.com.
YO-YO'S LATEST!  
Get more information on The Silk Road Project: Beyond the Horizon at www.masilkroad.com

LISTEN TO THE WFMT CONCERT ONLINE!  
Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble performed a concert at Orchestra Hall , Chicago April 8, 2005 that was simulcast on WFMT radio. The program includes interviews with Yo-Yo and other members of the Ensemble, and now you can listen to the whole thing online! PART 1: [Quicktime] [Real]
PART 2: [Quicktime] [Real]
Join the Yo-Yo Ma Mailling list to get regular updates and information about new albums, contests and more!  
 

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma wins Denmark's top music prize  
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma on Tuesday won the 2006 Sonning Music Prize, Denmark's top music award.

He will receive 500,000 kroner -- about euro 67,000 or US$80,000 -- in prize money during a concert in Copenhagen on Dec. 10, 2006.

Ma's career "has always been marked by his everlasting search for new ways to communicate with the audience and his ambition for artistic growth and renewal," the committee said in its citation.

The prize, named after Leonie Sonning, has been awarded annually since 1959 to an internationally renowned composer, musician, conductor or singer. Sonning, who died in 1970, was the widow of Danish editor Carl Johan Sonning.

Born in Paris to Chinese parents, Ma began to study the cello with his father at age 4 and moved with his parents to New York shortly after. He graduated from Harvard University in 1976.

He is the second cellist to receive the prize, after Mstislav Rostropovich in 1981.

Previous winners include Igor Stravinsy, Leonard Bernstein and Anne-Sophie Mutter, among others. Jazz musicians also have received the award, including Miles Davis and Keith Jarett.

British conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner won the 2005 award.

CHECK OUT YO-YO MA ESSENTIALS ON iTUNES  
iTunes has put together a collection of the best of Yo-Yo's works and made them available as iTunes Essentials Check it out!

NEWS ARCHIVE  
For older news, including Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Grammy information, read Yo-Yo's News Archive

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TOUR

Date

City/State/Country

 Venue/Event

10.04.07

Shanghai, China

 Shanghai Oriental Arts Center

Appearing with: Silk Road Ensemble

10.05.07

Suzhou, China

 Suzhou Science and Cultural Arts Center

10.09.07

Hongkong, China

 Hong Kong Culural Centre

10.12.07

Beijing, China

 Forbidden City Concert Hall

10.17.07

Paris, France

 Salle Pleyel

Appearing with: C. Eschenbach, ODP

10.18.07

Paris, France

 Salle Pleyel

Appearing with: C. Eschenbach, ODP

10.19.07

Luxembourg, Luxemburg

 Philharmonie Luxembourg

11.07.07

Akron, OH- USA

 Edwin J. Thomas Hall

Appearing with: Kathryn Stott

11.09.07

St. Paul, MN - USA

 Ordway Music Theatre

Appearing with: Kathryn Stott

11.10.07

Ann Arbor,MI - USA

 Hill Auditorium

Appearing with: Kathryn Stott

11.12.07

Washington, DC- USA

 Kennedy Center Concert Hall

Appearing with: Kathryn Stott

11.13.07

Philadelphia, PA -USA

 Kimmel Center

Appearing with: Kathryn Stott

11.15.07

Berkeley, CA - USA

 Zellerbach Hall

Appearing with: Kathryn Stott

11.17.07

Los Angeles, CA - USA

 Royce Hall

11.18.07

Santa Ana, CA- USA

 Orange County Perf. Arts Center

Appearing with: Kathryn Stott

12.06.07

Boston, MA - USA

 Symphony Hall

Appearing with: Boston Symphony

12.07.07

Boston, MA - USA

 Symphony Hall

Appearing with: Boston Symphony

12.08.07

Boston, MA - USA

 Symphony Hall

Appearing with: Boston Symphony

01.15.08

Zurich, Switzerland

 TBD

01.17.08

Dortmung, Germany

 TBD

01.19.08

Basel, Switzerland

 TBD

01.20.08

Cologne, Germany

 TBD

01.22.08

Munich, Germany

   TBD

01.23.08

Davos, Switzerland

 World Economic Forum

01.27.08

Davos, Switzerland

 World Economic Forum

02.27.08

Memorial Hall

Chapel Hill, NC

Appearing with: Nicholas Cords, Jonathan Gandelsman, Colin Jacobsen

02.28.08

Fayetteville, AR- USA

 Walton Arts Center

Appearing with: Nicholas Cords, Jonathan Gandelsman, Colin Jacobsen

03.01.08

Granville, OH- USA

 Herrick Hall

Appearing with: Nicholas Cords, Jonathan Gandelsman, Colin Jacobsen

03.02.08

Danville, KY- USA

 Norton Centre for the Arts

Appearing with: Nicholas Cords, Jonathan Gandelsman, Colin Jacobsen

03.04.08

Waterloo, Canada

 Perimeter Institute

03.05.08

Poughkeepsie, KY- USA

 Ulster Performing Arts Center

Appearing with: Nicholas Cords, Jonathan Gandelsman, Colin Jacobsen

03.10.08

Princeton, NJ- USA

 New Jersey Performing Arts Center

03.11.08

Chicago, IL- USA

 Orchestra Hall

04.10.08

New York, NY- USA

 Carnegie Hall

Appearing with: Bobby McFerrin, Orchestra of St. Luke

04.19.08

Matsumoto, Japan

 Naganoken Matsumoto Bunkakaikan

04.20.08

Nagoya, Japan

 Aichi arts Theatre

04.21.08

Tokyo, Japan

 Suntory Hall

Appearing with: Silk Road Ensemble

04.23.08

Tokyo, Japan

 Suntory Hall

Appearing with: Silk Road Ensemble

04.24.08

Osaka, Japan

 Osaka Symphony Hall

Appearing with: Silk Road Ensemble

04.25.08

Okayama, Japan

 Okayama Symphony Hall

Appearing with: Silk Road Ensemble

05.03.08

Toronto, Canada

 Roy Thomson Hall

05.05.08

Rochester, NY- USA

 Eastman Theatre

Appearing with: Rochester Philharmonic

05.07.08

Milwaukee, WI - USA

 Milwaukee Performing Arts Centre

Appearing with: Andreas Delfs

05.13.08

Detroit, MI- USA

 Orchestra Hall, Detroit

05.15.08

Columbus, OH - USA

 Ohio Theater, Columbus

05.18.08

Boston, MA- USA

 Symphony Hall

06.27.08

Brevard, NC - USA

 Brevard Music Center

06.29.08

Washington, DC - USA

 Kennedy Center Concert Hall

BIOGRAPHY

YO-YO MA - Cellist

Yo-Yo Ma's multi-faceted career is testament to his continual search for new ways to communicate with audiences, and to his personal desire for artistic growth and renewal. Whether performing new or familiar works from the cello repertoire, coming together with colleagues for chamber music or exploring cultures and musical forms outside the Western classical tradition, Mr. Ma strives to find connections that stimulate the imagination.

Yo-Yo Ma maintains a balance between his engagements as soloist with orchestras throughout the world and his recital and chamber music activities. He draws inspiration from a wide circle of collaborators, creating programs with such artists as Emanuel Ax, Daniel Barenboim, Christoph Eschenbach, Kayhan Kalhor, Ton Koopman, Bobby McFerrin, Edgar Meyer, Mark Morris, Mark O'Connor, Kathryn Stott, Wu Man, Wu Tong, and David Zinman. Each of these collaborations is fueled by the artists' interactions, often extending the boundaries of a particular genre. One of Mr. Ma's goals is the exploration of music as a means of communication, and as a vehicle for the migration of ideas, across a range of cultures throughout the world. To that end, he has taken time to immerse himself in subjects as diverse as native Chinese music with its distinctive instruments and the music of the Kalahari bush people in Africa.

Expanding upon this interest, in 1998, Mr. Ma established the Silk Road Project to promote the study of the cultural, artistic and intellectual traditions along the ancient trade route that stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. By examining the flow of ideas throughout this vast area, the Project seeks to illuminate the heritages of the Silk Road countries and identify the voices that represent these traditions today. Mr. Ma has performed a number of newly commissioned works, including chamber pieces created for the specially created Silk Road Ensemble (which tours with these works and traditional music from Silk Road countries). The Project's major activities have included the 2002 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which included more that 400 artists from 25 countries and drew more than 1.3 million visitors; concerts at the 2005 World Expo in Aichi, Japan. In the 2006-2007 season, partnering with the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the City of Chicago, the Silk Road Project is presenting Silk Road Chicago, a yearlong, citywide celebration through performance, exhibitions and events that explore cross-cultural discovery and celebration the artistic legacy of the Silk Road.

Now in its eighth year, the Silk Road Project has established a growing network of creative partnerships. In collaboration with leading museums in Asia, Europe and North America, the Project is co-producing a series of performance, exhibition and educational events focusing on great works of art from each museum's collections. The Project has presented residencies at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, the Nara National Museum in Nara, Japan, the Kyushu National Museum in Dazaifu, Japan, and the Rubin Museum in New York City, and this year will visit the Rietberg Museum in Zurich, Switzerland. Ongoing affiliations with the Rhode Island School of Design and Harvard University have made it possible to broaden and enhance the Project's educational programs.

The Project's performance-based initiatives include professional workshops co-produced with the Tanglewood Music Center, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Carnegie Hall. Workshops conducted with the Silk Road Ensemble include "Mentoring, Creating and Communicating," which highlighted performance practices of music from Azerbaijan, China, India and Iran, and "Tradition and Innovation," which featured new commissions from eight Silk Road composers.

Through the Silk Road Project, as throughout his career, Yo-Yo Ma seeks to expand the cello repertoire, frequently performing lesser known music of the 20th century and commissions of new concertos and recital pieces. He has premiered works by a diverse group of composers, among them Stephen Albert, Elliott Carter, Chen Yi, Richard Danielpour, Osvaldo Golijov, John Harbison, Leon Kirchner, Peter Lieberson, Christopher Rouse, Bright Sheng, Tan Dun and John Williams.

Mr. Ma is an exclusive Sony Classical artist, and his discography of over 75 albums (including more than 15 Grammy Award winners) reflects his wide-ranging interests. He has made several successful recordings that defy categorization, among them "Hush" with Bobby McFerrin, "Appalachia Waltz" and "Appalachian Journey" with Mark O'Connor and Edgar Meyer and two Grammy-winning tributes to the music of Brazil, "Obrigado Brazil" and "Obrigado Brazil – Live in Concert." Mr. Ma's most recent recordings include "Paris: La Belle èpoque," with pianist Kathryn Stott, and "New Impossibilities," a live album recorded with the Silk Road Ensemble and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra out July 31, 2007; he also appears on John Williams' soundtrack for Rob Marshall's film "Memoirs of a Geisha." Across this full range of releases Mr. Ma remains one of the best-selling recording artists in the classical field. All of his recent albums have quickly entered the Billboard chart of classical best sellers, remaining in the Top 15 for extended periods, often with as many as four titles simultaneously on the list.

Yo-Yo Ma is strongly committed to educational programs that not only bring young audiences into contact with music but also allow them to participate in its creation. While touring, he takes time whenever possible to conduct master classes as well as more informal programs for students—musicians and non-musicians alike. At the same time he continues to develop new concert programs for family audiences (helping, for instance, to inaugurate the family series at Carnegie Hall). In each of these undertakings, he works to connect music to students' daily surroundings and activities with the goal of making music and creativity a vital part of children's lives from an early age. He has also reached young audiences through appearances on "Arthur," "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" and "Sesame Street."

Yo-Yo Ma was born in 1955 to Chinese parents living in Paris. He began to study the cello with his father at age four and soon came with his family to New York, where he spent most of his formative years. Later, his principal teacher was Leonard Rose at the Juilliard School. He sought out a traditional liberal arts education to expand upon his conservatory training, graduating from Harvard University in 1976. He has received numerous awards, including the Avery Fisher Prize (1978), the Glenn Gould Prize (1999), the National Medal of the Arts (2001), the Dan David Prize (2006) and the Sonning Prize (2006). Appointed a CultureConnect Ambassador by the United States Department of State in 2002, Mr. Ma has met with, trained and mentored thousands of students worldwide including Lithuania, Korea, and Lebanon. He joined the National Symphony Orchestra, performing with them at the Kennedy Center and conducted master classes in Washington and New York with the Iraqi musicians. In 2006, Secretary General Kofi Annan named him a U.N. Peace Ambassador.

Mr. Ma and his wife have two children. He plays two instruments, a 1733 Montagnana cello from Venice and the 1712 Davidoff Stradivarius.

SONY BMG Masterworks is proud to bring you an intimate journey through the music of Yo-Yo Ma. Each episode of this podcast delves into the history of his career, and what led him to record each of the tracks of his current release Appassionato.

You can hear a quick preview of the podcast series, and then listen and subscribe directly through iTunes.

Get this widget!

Songs featured in each episode include:

Track: Bach (JS): Cello Suite #1 In G, S 1007 - 1. Prelude
Album: Bach (JS): Six Suites For Unaccompanied Cello [Disc 1] [Buy CD] [Buy @iTunes]


Track: First Impressions
Album: Appalachia Waltz [Buy CD] [Buy @iTunes]


Track: Oasis / Yo-Yo Ma & The Silk Road Ensemble
Album: Silk Road Journeys: Beyond the Horizon [Buy CD] [Buy @iTunes]


Track: Cinema Paradiso - Nostalgia
Album: Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone [Buy CD] [Buy @iTunes]


APPASSIONATO:

Track: Going To School
Album: Yo-Yo Ma / John Williams iTunes Sessions [Buy @iTunes]


Track: The Swan from Carnival of Animals
Album: Portrait of Yo-Yo Ma [Buy CD] [Buy @ iTunes]


Track: IV. Allegretto poco mosso (Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano)
Album: Paris - Le Belle Epoque [Buy CD] [Buy @ iTunes]


Track: II. Largo from Winter from the Four Seasons, Op. 8 No. 4 RV 297
Album: Appassionato [Buy CD] [Buy @ iTunes]


Track: The Mission: Gabriel's Oboe
Album: Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone [Buy CD] [Buy @ iTunes]


Track: Dolce de Coco
Album: Obrigado Brazil [Buy CD] [Buy @ iTunes]


EPISODE 2: JOHN WILLIAMS

Track: Going To School
Album: Yo-Yo Ma / John Williams iTunes Sessions [Buy @iTunes]


Track: A New Name... A New Life
Album: Memoirs Of A Geisha [Buy CD] [Buy @ iTunes]


Track: The Journey To The Hanamachi
Album: Memoirs Of A Geisha [Buy CD] [Buy @ iTunes]


Track: Elegy for Cello and Orchestra
Album: Yo-Yo Ma Plays The Music of John Williams [Buy CD] [Buy @ iTunes]



EPISODE 3: ENNIO MORRICONE

Gabriel’s Oboe
The Falls
Looking For You
Death Theme
Ecstasy of Gold
Deborah’s Theme

From album:
Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone [iTunes] [Amazon]

EPISODE 4: Kathyrn Scott

Franck:  Sonata in A for Violin & Piano – 4. Allegretto poco mosso
Franck: Sonata in A for Violin & Piano - 2. Recitativo - Fanatasia: Ben moderato
Franck: Sonata in A for Violin & Piano - 4. Allegretto poco mosso

From album: Yo-Yo Ma & Kathryn Scott - Paris: La Belle Epoque

EPISODE 5 – Eugene Ormandy

Kabelevsky: Concerto No. 1 for Cello & Orchestra, Op. 49 - Allegro
II. Largo from Cello Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 49
Shostakovich: Concerto No. 1 for Cello & Orchestra, Op. 107 – Allegretto

From album:
Yo-Yo Ma - Shostakovich and Kabalevsky: Cello Concerto #1 [iTunes] [Amazon]

EPISODE 6: Ton Koopman & The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra

Double Cello Concerto, for 2 cellos, strings & continuo in G minor, RV 531:
I. Allegro
II. Largo
III. Allegro

II. Largo from 'Winter', Op. 8, No. 4, RV 297 from the Four Seasons

From the album: 
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Ton Koopman, Yo-Yo Ma - Vivaldi’s Cello [iTunes] [Amazon]

EPISODE 7 - Jeffrey Kahane

Sonata for clarinet & piano-Leonard Bernstein
I. Grazioso

Preludes for piano- George Gershwin
I. Allegro ben ritmato e deciso
II. Andante con moto e poco rubato

From album:
Yo-Yo Ma – Made in America [iTunes] [Amazon]

 

"Winter"

RealVideo | QuickTime | Windows Media: lo - med - hi

"Laudamus Te"

RealVideo | QuickTime | Windows Media: lo - med - hi

Available on DVD in three volumes, Inspired by Bach presents Yo-Yo Ma in six extraordinary film collaborations that explore the passion and transformative power of J.S. Bach's glorious solo cello suites.

Inspired By Bach Volume 1 (Requires Quicktime)
The Music Garden
The Sound Of the Carceri- Suite #2 Part I
The Sound Of the Carceri- Suite #2 Part II

Inspired By Bach Volume 2 (RequiresQuicktime)
Falling Down Stairs Sarabande Part I
Sarabande Part II

Inspired By Bach Volume 3 (Requires Quicktime)
Six Gestures
Sarabande Part I
Sarabande Part II

Heartland Anthology
Emily's Reel
Real Video: All Speeds
Windows Media: 28.8 / 56.6 / 300

Slumber My Darling
Real Video All Speeds
Windows Media: 28.8 / 56.6 / 300

Appalachia Waltz Real Video:
All Speeds
Windows Media: 28.8 / 56.6 / 300

Simply Baroque
Go Behind the Scenes of Simply Baroque
Real Video: All speeds
Windows Media: 56k / ISDN / T1

Soul Of The Tango
Listen to Yo-Yo talk about Soul of the Tango
(Requires Quicktime)
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

MUSIC

Appassionato [Barnes & Noble Exclusive]
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Appassionato [Barnes & Noble Exclusive]

Release Date:  January 09, 2007
Track listing for CD Longplay
(705833)

  • Going To School (iTunes Session)
  • IV. Allegretto poco mosso from Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano
  • II. Andante con moto e poco rubato from Three Preludes
  • II. Largo from "Winter", Op. 8, No. 4, RV 297 from the Four Seasons
  • Doce de coco
  • II. Largo from Concerto No. 1 in G minor for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 49
  • Cinema Paradiso: Looking for You from Giuseppe Tornatore Suite
  • The Swan from Carnival of the Animals (Chamber Version)
  • Yanzi (Swallow Song)
  • II. Andante from Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra in A minor, Op. 102
  • Soledad
  • No. 4 Mikin Pekko from Five Finnish Folk Songs
  • First Impressions (Instrumental)
  • Song Without Words, Op. 109
  • Gabriel's Oboe from The Mission (Excerpt)
  • Andante Cantabile for Cello Solo and String Orchestra, Op. posth.
Appassionato
Buy

Appassionato

Release Date:  January 09, 2007
Track listing for CD Longplay
(702668)

  • Going To School (iTunes Session)  ra  wma32  wma128
  • IV. Allegretto poco mosso from Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano
  • II. Andante con moto e poco rubato from Three Preludes
  • II. Largo from "Winter", Op. 8, No. 4, RV 297 from the Four Seasons
  • Doce de coco
  • II. Largo from Concerto No. 1 in G minor for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 49
  • Cinema Paradiso: Looking for You from Giuseppe Tornatore Suite
  • The Swan from Carnival of the Animals (Chamber Version)
  • Yanzi (Swallow Song)  ra  wma32  wma128
  • II. Andante from Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra in A minor, Op. 102
  • Soledad
  • No. 4 Mikin Pekko from Five Finnish Folk Songs
  • First Impressions (Instrumental)
  • Song Without Words, Op. 109
  • Gabriel's Oboe from The Mission (Excerpt)
Bach: Unaccompanied Cello Suites [Great Performances]
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Bach: Unaccompanied Cello Suites [Great Performances]

Release Date:  June 06, 2006
Track listing for CD Longplay
(678751)

Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone
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Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone

Release Date:  January 03, 2006
Track listing for Super Audio CD Hybrid
(676225)

  • SIDE 1
  • The Mission
  • Gabriel's Oboe
  • The Falls
  • Giuseppe Tornatore Suite
  • Playing Love from The Legend of 1900
  • Nostalgia from Cinema Paradiso
  • Looking for You (Love Theme) from Cinema Paradiso
  • Malena (Main theme)
  • Remembering (Ricordare)*
  • Sergio Leone Suite
  • Deborah's Theme from Once Upon A Time In America
  • Cockeye's Song from Once Upon a Time in America
  • Main Theme from Once Upon a Time in America
  • Main Theme from Once Upon a Time in the West
  • Ecstasy of Gold from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
  • Brian DePalma Suite
  • Main Theme from Casualities of War
  • Death Theme from The Untouchables
  • Moses and Marco Polo Suite
  • Journey from Moses
  • Theme from Moses
  • Main Theme from Marco Polo
  • The Lady Caliph
  • Dinner
  • Nocturne
  • SIDE 2
  • The Mission (PCM Stereo Version)
  • Gabriel's Oboe (PCM Stereo Version)
  • The Falls (PCM Stereo Version)
  • Giuseppe Tornatore Suite (PCM Stereo Version)
  • Playing Love from 1900 (PCM Stereo Version)
  • Nostalgia from Cinema Paradiso (PCM Stereo Version)
  • Looking for You (Love Theme) from Cinema Paradiso (PCM Stereo Version)
  • Malena (Main theme) (PCM Stereo Version)
  • Remembering (Ricordare)* (PCM Stereo Version)
  • Sergio Leone Suite (PCM Stereo Version)
  • Deborah's Theme from Once Upon A Time In America (PCM Stereo Version)
  • Cockeye's Song from Once Upon a Time in America (PCM Stereo Version)
  • Main Theme from Once Upon a Time in America (PCM Stereo Version)
  • Main Theme from Once Upon a Time in the West (PCM Stereo Version)
  • Ecstasy of Gold from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (PCM Stereo Version)
  • Brian DePalma Suite (PCM Stereo Version)
  • Main Theme from Casualities of War (PCM Stereo Version)
  • Death Theme from The Untouchables (PCM Stereo Version)
  • Moses and Marco Polo Suite (PCM Stereo Version)
  • Journey from Moses (PCM Stereo Version)
  • Theme from Moses (PCM Stereo Version)
  • Main Theme from Marco Polo (PCM Stereo Version)
  • The Lady Caliph (PCM Stereo Version)
  • Dinner (PCM Stereo Version)
  • Nocturne (PCM Stereo Version)
Memoirs Of A Geisha
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Memoirs Of A Geisha

Release Date:  November 22, 2005
Track listing for CD Longplay
(674708)

R. Strauss: Don Quixote, Op. 35; Sonata in F Major for Cello and Piano, Op. 6 [Classic Library]
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R. Strauss: Don Quixote, Op. 35; Sonata in F Major for Cello and Piano, Op. 6 [Classic Library]

Release Date:  August 30, 2005
Track listing for CD Longplay
(094735)

Essential Yo-Yo Ma
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Essential Yo-Yo Ma

Release Date:  August 16, 2005
Track listing for CD Longplay
(093927)

  • SIDE 1
  • Prélude from Suite No. 1 in G Major for Cello, BWV 1007  ra  wma32  wma128
  • II. Largo from "Winter", Op. 8, No. 4, RV 297 from the Four Seasons  ra  wma32  wma128
  • Jesus, bleibet meine Freude (Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring), BWV 147  ra  wma32  wma128
  • Schafe können sicher weiden (Sheep May Safely Graze), BWV 208  ra  wma32  wma128
  • Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Sleepers Awake), BWV 645  ra  wma32  wma128
  • The Swan from Carnival of the Animals (Chamber Version)  ra  wma32  wma128
  • Havanaise, Op. 83  ra  wma32  wma128
  • Méditation from Thaïs  ra  wma32  wma128
  • Liebesfreud (Instrumental)  ra  wma32  wma128
  • I. Allegro ben ritmato e deciso from Three Preludes  ra  wma32  wma128
  • Vocalise (Vocal)  ra  wma32  wma128
  • IV. Allegro from Sonata in D minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 40  ra  wma32  wma128
  • Andante Cantabile for Cello Solo and String Orchestra, Op. posth.  ra  wma32  wma128
  • IV. Rondo alla Zingarese. Presto from Quartet No. 1 in G minor for Piano and Strings, Op. 25  ra  wma32  wma128
  • III. Finale. Allegro moderato from Concerto in B minor for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 104  ra  wma32  wma128
Silk Road Journeys: Beyond the Horizon
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Silk Road Journeys: Beyond the Horizon

Release Date:  April 05, 2005
Track listing for CD Longplay
(093962)