On February 24, Yo-Yo Ma and Wu Tong guest with conductor Long Yu and the New York Philharmonic for the U.S. premiere of Zhao Lin’s Duo, a double concerto for cello and sheng, as part of the orchestra’s Lunar New Year celebration. The sheng is a traditional Chinese woodwind instrument comprised of 17 bamboo pipes.
“One evening Wu Tong presented me with a beautiful melody, ‘Swallow Song’, a love song heard on both sides of the border between China and Kazakhstan,” says Ma. “The next morning, composer Zhao Lin had made an exquisite version for voice and cello of such sensitivity and taste, I thought maybe one day he might be willing to write a piece for Wu Tong and me – the result is this Double Concerto ‘Duo’.”
Discover the program and purchase tickets to the February 24 concert here.
