Yo-Yo Ma

Yo-Yo Ma (1955- ), Chinese-American cellist. Born in Paris to a musical family (his father played the violin, his mother the piano), Ma first studied violin and viola as a child. He made his debut on the cello when he was five. His family moved to the United States three years later, and, apart from extensive tours, he has lived there ever since. Enrolling at the Juilliard School of Music at 9, he trained with such masters as Leonard Rose and Janos Scholz, giving his first public performance in New York at the age of 15. He won the Avery Fisher Prize in 1978, and became a household name internationally soon after.

His solo recitals are notable for fiery virtuosity counterbalanced by poetic sensitivity, and he is also active as a concerto soloist in recording studios and concert halls all over the world. Renowned as a performer of chamber music, he has enjoyed fruitful collaborations with such colleagues as Pinchas Zukerman, Yehudi Menuhin, and Emanuel Ax. He is celebrated by audiences and critics for the sweeping grandeur of his interpretation of Beethoven sonatas, the clarity and urgency of his Bach, and the dynamic boldness of his Shostakovich and Bartók.

From 1995 to 1997 Ma was involved in an ambitious project based around his performances of Bach's six Suites for Solo Cello. The suites were the subjects of six films, collectively titled Inspired by Bach, by six Canadian directors, including Patricia Rozema, Atom Egoyan, and François Girard, that ranged from documentary (on the production of a new dance work by Mark Morris based on the third suite) to drama (Egoyan's Sarabande, utilizing the fourth suite). Ma appeared as himself in all the films, which featured collaborations with other artists, from the ice dancers Torvill and Dean to the kabuki actor Bando Tamasaburo.

Ma's repertoire is not confined to the strictly classical, and among other projects he has worked with musicians specializing in traditional American music, releasing two recordings, Appalachian Waltz (1996) and Appalachian Journey (2000), which won a Grammy Award. In 2000 he also featured in the Academy Award-winning score by Tan Dun for Ang Lee's film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Also, interested by the interconnecting artistic, cultural, and intellectual heritage generated by the ancient silk route, in 1998 Ma launched the long-term Silk Road Project. The intention was to encourage the study of traditions of different countries and how they were affected by the trade route. Ma hoped that this would generate new artistic works and since then he has performed a number of pieces commissioned for the project along with more traditional works from the individual countries. Obrigado Brazil, an album with recordings of Ma performing works by Brazilian composers including Heitor Villa-Lobos and Pixinguinha, was released in 2003.