Yo-Yo Ma 馬友友 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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.jpg) Ma in 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Background information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1955-10-07)7 October 1955 (age 69) Paris,France | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Genres | See article | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Musician | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Instrument | Cello | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years active | 1961–present | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Labels | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of | Silk Road Ensemble | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | yo-yoma | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 馬友友 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 马友友 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Yo-Yo Ma[a] (born October 7, 1955) is a French-Americancellist.[1] Born toChinese[2] parents inParis, he was regarded as achild prodigy there and began to study the cello with his father at age four. At the age of seven, Ma moved with his family toBoston and later toNew York City, where he continued his cello studies at theJuilliard School before pursuing a liberal arts education atHarvard University. He has performed as a soloist with orchestras around the world, recorded more than 92 albums, and received 19Grammy Awards.
In addition to recordings of the standardclassical repertoire, Ma has recorded a wide variety of folk music, such as Americanbluegrass music, traditional Chinese melodies, thetangos of Argentine composerAstor Piazzolla, and Brazilian music. He has also collaborated with artists from a diverse range of genres, includingBobby McFerrin,Carlos Santana,Chris Botti,Diana Krall,James Taylor,Miley Cyrus,Zakir Hussain, andSting.
Ma has been aUnited Nations Messenger of Peace since 2006.[3] He has received numerous awards, including theAvery Fisher Prize in 1978,The Glenn Gould Prize in 1999, theNational Medal of Arts in 2001,[4] thePresidential Medal of Freedom in 2011,Kennedy Center Honors in 2011, thePolar Music Prize in 2012, and theBirgit Nilsson Prize in 2022.[5] He was named as one ofTime's 100 Most Influential People of 2020.[6]
Ma's primary performance instrument is theDavidov cello, made in 1712 byAntonio Stradivari.[7]
Ma's mother, Marina Lu, was a singer, and his father, Hiao-Tsiun Ma, was a violinist, composer[8] and professor of music at NanjingNational Central University (now relocated inTaoyuan,Taiwan; predecessor of the present-dayNanjing University andSoutheast University). They both migrated from theRepublic of China to France during theChinese Civil War. Ma's sister, Ya tong sang, played the viola and piano professionally before obtaining a medical degree from Harvard and becoming a pediatrician.[9] The family moved to Boston when Ma was seven.[10][11]
From the age of three, Ma played thedrums,violin,piano, and laterviola, but settled on the cello in 1960 at age four. When three-year-old Yo-Yo said he wanted a big instrument, his father went to see Etienne Vatelot, a foremost violin maker in Paris who, after a chat, lent him a 1/16th cello. He jokes that his first choice was thedouble bass due to its large size, but he compromised and took up the cello instead. While Hiao-Tsiun handled much of his son's early music education, he eventually conceded that Yo-Yo required a more skilled teacher, and signed his son up for cello lessons with the renowned Mme Michelle Lepinte. He began performing before audiences at age five and played for presidentsDwight D. Eisenhower andJohn F. Kennedy when he was seven.[12][13] At age eight, he appeared on American television with his sister[14] in an event introduced byLeonard Bernstein. In 1964,Isaac Stern introduced them onThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and they performed the Sonata of Sammartini. After moving to New York, Ma enrolled at theJuilliard School, where he studied under renowned cellistLeonard Rose, and attendedTrinity School in New York but transferred to theProfessional Children's School, where he graduated at age 15.[15] He appeared as a soloist with theHarvard Radcliffe Orchestra in a performance ofTchaikovsky'sRococo Variations.
Ma attendedColumbia University, but dropped out. He later enrolled atHarvard College. Prior to entering Harvard, Ma played in the Marlboro Festival Orchestra under the direction of cellist, conductor and Ma's childhood heroPablo Casals. He spent four summers at theMarlboro Music Festival after meeting and falling in love withMount Holyoke College sophomore and festival administrator Jill Hornor during his first summer there in 1972.[16]
Even before that time, Ma gained fame and performed with many of the world's major orchestras. He has also playedchamber music, often with pianistEmanuel Ax, with whom he has a close friendship from their days at Juilliard. Ma received hisbachelor's degree inanthropology from Harvard in 1976,[17] and in 1991 received an honorary doctorate from Harvard.[18]
In 1997, Ma was featured onJohn Williams's soundtrack to the Hollywood filmSeven Years in Tibet. In 2000, he was heard on the soundtrack ofCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and ofMaster and Commander: The Far Side of the World in 2003. He collaborated with Williams again on the score for the 2005 filmMemoirs of a Geisha. He has also worked with Italian composerEnnio Morricone and has recorded Morricone's compositions of theDollars Trilogy, includingThe Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, as well asOnce Upon a Time in America,The Mission, andThe Untouchables. He has recorded over 90 albums, 19 of which areGrammy Award winners. He received the Award of Excellence from New York's International Center.
In addition to his prolific musical career, Ma collaborated in 1999 with landscape architects to design a Bach-inspired garden. Known as the Music Garden, it interprets Bach's Suite No. 1 in G Major for unaccompanied cello (BWV 1007), where the garden's sections were designed to correspond with the suite's dance movements.[19] Toronto enthusiastically embraced the design, originally planned for Boston, and it was subsequently built in theHarbourfront neighborhood.[20]
Ma was named Peace Ambassador by then-UN Secretary-GeneralKofi Annan in January 2006.[21] He is a founding member of the influential Chinese-AmericanCommittee of 100, which addresses the concerns of Americans of Chinese heritage.[22]
On November 3, 2009, PresidentBarack Obama appointed Ma to serve on the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities.[23] His music was featured in the 2010 documentaryJews and Baseball: An American Love Story, narrated by Academy Award winnerDustin Hoffman.[24][25][26] In 2010, President Obama announced that he would recognize Ma with thePresidential Medal of Freedom, which Ma received in February 2011.[27]
In 2010, Ma was named Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant of theChicago Symphony Orchestra. He launched the Citizen Musician initiative partnership in partnership with the orchestra's music director,Riccardo Muti.[28] Also in 2010, he appeared on a solo album by guitaristCarlos Santana,Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time, playing alongside Santana and singerIndia Arie on aBeatles classic,While My Guitar Gently Weeps.
In 2015, Ma performed with singer-songwriter and guitaristJames Taylor on three tracks of Taylor's chart-topping albumBefore This World:You And I Again. In 2019, Ma directed the orchestra at the annual Youth Music Culture Guangdong. Ma is represented by the independent artist management firmOpus 3 Artists.[29] Ma contributed to the charity tribute albumThe Metallica Blacklist, released in September 2021, backingMiley Cyrus on a cover of the Metallica song "Nothing Else Matters".[30]
Ma serves on the Board of Trustees of theWorld Economic Forum.[31]
Ma formed his own collective, theSilk Road Ensemble, named after the route across Asia which for more than 2,000 years was used for trade between Europe and China. His goal was to bring together musicians from diverse countries that were historically linked via theSilk Road.[32] The ensemble's recordings are issued on theSony Classical label. He also founded the Silk Road Connect, an educational pilot program for children from middle schools in the United States, including New York City.[33]
Yo-Yo Ma has been referred to by critics as "omnivorous" and possesses an eclectic repertoire.[34] In addition to numerous recordings of the standard classical repertoire, he has recordedBaroque pieces usingperiod instruments; Americanbluegrass music; traditionalChinese melodies, including the soundtrack to the filmCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; thetangos of Argentinian composerAstor Piazzolla; Brazilian music, recording traditional and contemporary songs composed byAntônio Carlos Jobim andPixinguinha; a collaboration withBobby McFerrin (where Ma admitted to being terrified by McFerrin's improvisation); and the music of modernminimalistPhilip Glass, in such works as the 2002Naqoyqatsi.
Ma is known for his smooth, rich tone, soulful lyricism, and virtuosity.[35] He released a cello recording ofNiccolò Paganini'sCaprice No. 24 for solo violin andZoltán Kodály'sSolo Sonata.
Ma's primary performance instrument is theDavidov cello, made in 1712 byAntonio Stradivari.[7] It was previously owned byJacqueline du Pré, who bequeathed it to him. Du Pré voiced her frustration with the cello's "unpredictability", but Ma attributed du Pré's sentiment to her impassioned style of playing, adding that the Stradivarius cello must be "coaxed" by the player.[36] Prior to theDavidov, he performed on a 1722Matteo Gofriller cello which he used for much of his early career. The instrument was previously in the possession of the French cellistPierre Fournier.[37]
Ma also plays on a 1733Domenico Montagnana cello, named the "Petunia". In 2005, it was valued at US$2.5 million (US$4 million in 2024 prices). A student approached Ma after one of his classes inSalt Lake City and asked if the cello had a nickname. Ma replied, "No, but if I play for you, will you name it?" The student chose Petunia, and it stuck.[38] In 1999, Ma inadvertently left the cello in a taxicab in New York City, but it was quickly returned undamaged.[39] That year, when its neck was damaged duringX-ray baggage inspection, he borrowed thePawle Stradivarius cello from theChimei Museum for a concert inTaiwan. The damage was repaired in time, but Ma played bothPetunia andPawle in the concert nonetheless.[40][41][42]
Ma also owns a modern cello made by Peter and Wendela Moes of Warrenton, Virginia, one ofcarbon fiber by theLuis and Clark company of Boston,[43] and aSamuel Zygmuntowicz cello. According to Zygmuntowicz, he "wants to give (Ma) a reason to leave his Montagnana at home."[44]
On July 5, 1986, Ma performed in theNew York Philharmonic's tribute to the 100th anniversary of theStatue of Liberty, which was televised live onABC Television.[45] The orchestra, with conductorZubin Mehta, performed inCentral Park.
Ma performed a duet withCondoleezza Rice at the presentation of the 2001 National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal Awards. He was the first performer on September 11, 2002, at thesite of the World Trade Center, while the first of thenames of the dead were read on the first anniversary of theattack on the WTC; he played theSarabande from Bach'sCello Suite #5 in C Minor.[46] He performed a special arrangement ofSting's "Fragile" with Sting and theMormon Tabernacle Choir in the opening ceremonies of the2002 Winter Olympics inSalt Lake City, Utah. He also appeared as aPennington Great Performers series artist with theBaton Rouge Symphony Orchestra in 2005.
He performedJohn Williams's "Air and Simple Gifts" at thefirst inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20, 2009, along withItzhak Perlman (violin),Gabriela Montero (piano), andAnthony McGill (clarinet). While the quartet played live, the music, played simultaneously over speakers and on television, was a recording made two days prior due to concerns over the cold weather damaging the instruments. Ma said, "A broken string was not an option. It was wicked cold."[47]
On May 3, 2009, Ma performed the world premiere ofBruce Adolphe's "Self Comes to Mind" for solo cello and two percussionists with John Ferrari and Ayano Kataoka at theAmerican Museum of Natural History in New York City. The work is based on a poetic description written for the composer of the evolution of brain into mind by neuroscientistAntonio Damasio. A film of brain scans provided byHanna Damasio, and other images, were coordinated with the performance.
On August 29, 2009, Ma performed at the funeral mass forSenator Edward M. Kennedy. Pieces he performed included the Sarabande movement fromBach'sCello Suite No. 6 andFranck'sPanis angelicus withPlácido Domingo.[48]
On October 3, 2009, Ma appeared with Canadian prime ministerStephen Harper at the National Arts Centre gala in Ottawa. Harper, a fan ofThe Beatles, played the piano and sang a rendition of "With a Little Help from My Friends" while Ma accompanied him on cello. On October 16, 2011, Ma performed at the memorial ofSteve Jobs at Stanford University'sMemorial Church.[49]
In 2011, Ma performed with American dancerCharles "Lil Buck" Riley in the United States and in China at the U.S.-China Forum on the Arts and Culture.[50]
On April 18, 2013, he performed at an interfaith service to honor the victims of theBoston Marathon bombing, held at theCathedral of the Holy Cross, where he played theSarabande from Bach'sCello Suite No. 5 in C Minor. He and other musicians also accompanied members of theBoston Children's Chorus in a hymn.[51]
On September 9, 2015, Ma performed all six of Bach's cello suites at theRoyal Albert Hall (London) as part of theBBC Proms season.
On September 12, 2017, Ma performed all six of Bach's cello suites at theHollywood Bowl (Los Angeles). After the first three suites, there was a "ten-minute pause" (as the Bowl video screen described it). The audience of around 17,000 also heard him play an encore, a tribute to "cellist Pablo Casals, who as a 13-year-old in 1890 discovered an old copy of the Bach suites in a secondhand music store, bringing them to modern attention. Ma's memorable last words were, "If there are any 13-year-here—don't throw anything away."[52]
On November 11, 2018, Ma performed at theArc de Triomphe in Paris, with violinistRenaud Capuçon, in front of a crowd of world leaders during a ceremony marking thecentenary of the armistice that ended World War I.[53]
On May 1, 2019, he performed atParanal Observatory in theAtacama desert. He said that his interest inastronomy motivated him to visit and perform there.
On June 20, 2019, Ma performed the BachComplete Cello Suites atJay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois. The free performance attracted what might have been his largest audience, with a pavilion capacity of 11,000, and many thousands more listening from surroundingMillennium Park.
On January 20, 2021, Ma's performance of "Amazing Grace"—pre-recorded due to theCOVID-19 pandemic—was played during theinauguration of Joe Biden.[55][56] In March 2021, Ma played "Ave Maria" in an impromptu waiting room concert, after receiving his second dose of aCOVID-19 vaccine atBerkshire Community College in Massachusetts.[57][58]
On September 14, 2021, Ma again performed Bach's six cello suites at theHollywood Bowl, this time without intermission, pausing only briefly for applause between suites, and to announce his dedications for two of them.
On December 7, 2024, on theReopening of Notre-Dame in Paris, Ma performed the prelude of the First Cello Suite from Bach.[59]
Ma appeared as himself in an episode ("My Music Rules") of the animated children's television seriesArthur, and onThe West Wing (the episode "Noël"), where he played the prelude to Bach'sCello Suite No.1 at a Congressional Christmas party. He made five appearances onSesame Street, all of which first aired during the show's 17th season in 1986. He appeared inThe Simpsons episode "Puffless", where he played a serenade and theme music. Ma's likeness appeared in anotherSimpsons episode, "Missionary: Impossible", but he was played by regularSimpsons cast memberHank Azaria rather than Ma himself. Ma appeared twice onMister Rogers' Neighborhood, developed a friendship with creator and hostFred Rogers, and later received the inaugural Fred Rogers Legacy Award.
He also starred in the visual accompaniment to his recordings ofBach'sSix Suites for Unaccompanied Cello.
Ma was often invited to press events byApple Inc. andPixar CEOSteve Jobs, performed during the company's major events, and appeared in a commercial for theMacintosh computer. Ma's Bach recordings were used in a memorial video released by Apple on the first anniversary of Jobs's death.[60]
Ma was a guest on the "Not My Job" segment ofWait Wait... Don't Tell Me! on April 7, 2007, where he won for listener Thad Moore.[61]
On October 27, 2008, Ma appeared as a guest and performer onThe Colbert Report.[62] He was also one of the show's guests on November 1, 2011, where he performed songs from the albumThe Goat Rodeo Sessions with musiciansStuart Duncan,Edgar Meyer andChris Thile.[63] He also performed several of Bach's cello suites for the 2012 filmBill W. On October 5, 2015, he appeared on Colbert's new program,The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, in support of ballerinaMisty Copeland, and prematurely celebrating his 60th birthday.
In August 2018, Ma appeared onNPR'sTiny Desk Concerts.[64]
On June 19, 2020, the same group of musicians who recordedThe Goat Rodeo Sessions released a second album,Not Our First Goat Rodeo.
On September 1, 2020, the same group performed a virtual concert of some songs fromNot Our First Goat Rodeo onNPR'sTiny Desk Concerts.[65]
On June 13, 2021, Ma was the guest on BBC Radio 4'sDesert Island Discs.[66] His musical choices included "Tin Tin Deo" by theOscar Peterson Trio and "Podmoskovnye Vechera – Moscow Nights" byVasily Solovyov-Sedoi. He selected as his book the 24 volumes of theEncyclopædia Britannica, and as his luxury item aSwiss Army knife. He revealed that his career in music felt like a "gift" afterscoliosis threatened his ability to play in his 20s.[67][68]
In 2022, Ma made a cameo appearance as himself in theNetflix filmGlass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.[69]
Since 1978, Ma has been married to Jill Hornor, an arts consultant.[70] They have two children,Nicholas and Emily.[11][71] Although he personally considers it the "worst epithet he's ever faced," he was "tagged" in 2001 as "Sexiest Classical Musician" byPeople.[72] He has continued to receive such accolades over the years, including fromAARP in 2012, when Ma was named one of the "21 sexiest men over 50".[73]
According to research presented by Harvard professorHenry Louis Gates Jr. for the PBS seriesFaces of America, a relative hid the Mafamily genealogy in his home in China to save it from destruction during theCultural Revolution. Ma's paternal ancestry can be traced back 18 generations to the year 1217. The genealogy was compiled in the 18th century by an ancestor, tracing everyone with the surname Ma, through the paternal line, back to one common ancestor in the 3rd century BC. Ma'sgeneration name, Yo, was decided by his fourth great grand-uncle, Ma Ji Cang, in 1755.[74][75] DNA research revealed that Ma is distantly related to actressEva Longoria.[76]
Aside fromEnglish, Ma is fluent inMandarin Chinese andFrench.[77][78]
Ma's albums include recordings of cello concertos, sonatas for cello and piano, works for solo cello, and a variety of chamber music. He has also recorded in non-classical styles, notably in collaboration with artists such asBobby McFerrin,Carlos Santana,Chris Botti,Chris Thile,Diana Krall,James Taylor,Miley Cyrus andSting.[79][80]
Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance:
Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance:
Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance:
Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition:
Grammy Award for Best Classical Album:
Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album:
Grammy Award for Best Folk Album:
Grammy Award for Best World Music Album:
Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance:
yo yo ma 9/11 first anniversary 2002.
"I'm still trying to get it right"
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