Yo-Yo Ma

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Ma

Yo-Yo Ma
Album cover
Background information
Born	October 7, 1955, Paris, France
Genre(s)	Classical Music
Occupation(s)	Cellist
Instrument(s)	Cello
Associated acts	Silk Road Ensemble
Website	yo-yoma.com/
Notable instrument(s)
Cello

Yo-Yo Ma (Traditional Chinese: 馬友友; Simplified Chinese: 马友友; pinyin: Mǎ Yǒuyǒu) (born October 7, 1955) is a French-born Chinese American virtuoso cellist, considered one of the finest in the world.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Later Life and Career 3 Playing Style 4 Appearances 5 Discography 6 Awards and recognitions 7 See also 8 References in Media 9 External links

[edit] Early life

Ma was born in Paris to Chinese parents and had a musical upbringing. His mother, Marina Lu (Traditional Chinese: 盧雅文; Simplified Chinese: 卢雅文; pinyin: Lú Yǎwén), was a singer, while his father, Hiao-Tsiun Ma (Traditional Chinese: 馬孝駿; Simplified Chinese: 马孝骏; pinyin: Mǎ Xiàojùn), was a conductor and composer. Ma began to study the violin, then the viola, before taking up the cello. His family moved to New York when he was seven years old.

Ma was a child prodigy, appearing on American television at the age of eight in a concert conducted by Leonard Bernstein. He entered the Juilliard School, and spent a semester studying at Columbia University before enrolling at Harvard University, but had begun to question whether to continue his studies until, in the 1970s, Pablo Casals's performing inspired him.^{[citation needed]}

However, even before that time, he had steadily gained fame, and had performed with most of the world's major orchestras. His recordings and performances of Johann Sebastian Bach's suites for unaccompanied cello are particularly acclaimed, and he has also played a good deal of chamber music — often with the pianist Emanuel Ax, with whom he has a close friendship stretching back to their days at the Juilliard School of Music in New York.

[edit] Later Life and Career

Ma married his long-time girlfriend, Jill Hornor, a violinist, in 1978. They have two children, Nicholas (24) and Emily (21). Ma's elder sister, Yeou-Cheng Ma (Traditional Chinese: 馬友乘; Simplified Chinese: 马友乘; pinyin: Mǎ Yǒuchéng), also born in Paris, is a violinist, married to Michael Dadap, a New York guitarist. Together, they currently run the Children's Orchestra Society (COS) on Long Island.

He currently plays with his own Silk Road Ensemble, which has the goal of bringing together musicians from diverse countries all of which are historically linked via the Silk Road^{[citation needed]}, and records on the Sony Classical label.

His main performance instrument is the cello Petunia, made by Domenico Montagnana in Venice in 1733, which he once left in a taxicab in New York.^{[citation needed]} One of his other celli, the Davidov Stradivarius, was previously played regularly by Jacqueline du Pré and left to him upon her death. Du Pré had previously voiced her frustration with that cello's 'unpredictability', while Ma puts this down to du Pré's passionate style of playing, and says that this cello has to be 'coaxed' by the player. It was until recently set up in a Baroque manner, since Ma exclusively played Baroque music on it. He also owns a cello made of carbon fibre, by Boston company Luis & Clark.

[edit] Playing Style

Ma has been called "the most omnivorous of all cellists" by critics and indeed possesses a far more eclectic repertoire than is typical for a classical player.^{[citation needed]} He has performed and recorded Baroque pieces on period instruments, American bluegrass music, traditional Chinese melodies including the soundtrack to the film Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, the Argentinian tangos of Ástor Piazzolla, Brazilian music, and Philip Glass's minimalist score for Naqoyqatsi, in addition to numerous recordings of the standard classical repertoire. His latest CD as of 2006 is a collaboration with other musicians for the Memoirs of a Geisha soundtrack.

[edit] Appearances

Ma has appeared in an episode of the animated children's television series, Arthur, as well as on The West Wing, Sesame Street and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. He also starred in the visual accompaniment to his recordings of Bach's Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello.

Ma has also been seen with Apple Computer and Pixar CEO Steve Jobs. Yo-Yo Ma is often invited to press events for Jobs's companies, even performing on stage during an Apple Keynote presented by Mr. Jobs.

Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan announced in January of 2006 that Ma will take on a new role as a UN Peace Ambassador.

[edit] Discography

Main article: Yo-Yo Ma discography

[edit] Awards and recognitions

Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance:

• Emanuel Ax & Yo-Yo Ma for Brahms: Cello and Piano Sonatas in E Minor and F (1986)
• Emanuel Ax & Yo-Yo Ma for Beethoven: Cello and Piano Sonata No. 4 in C & Variations (1987)
• Emanuel Ax, Jaime Laredo, Yo-Yo Ma & Isaac Stern for Brahms: Piano Quartets (Opp. 25 and 26) (1992)
• Emanuel Ax & Yo-Yo Ma for Brahms: Sonatas for Cello & Piano (1993)
• Emanuel Ax, Yo-Yo Ma & Richard Stoltzman for Brahms/Beethoven/Mozart: Clarinet Trios (1996)

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra):

• David Zinman (conductor), Yo-Yo Ma & the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for Barber: Cello Concerto, Op. 22/Britten: Symphony for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 68 (1990)
• Lorin Maazel (conductor), Yo-Yo Ma & the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for Prokofiev: Sinfonia Concertante/Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme (1993)
• David Zinman (conductor), Yo-Yo Ma & the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for The New York Album - Works of Albert, Bartók & Bloch (1995)
• David Zinman (conductor), Yo-Yo Ma & the Philadelphia Orchestra for Premieres - Cello Concertos (Works of Danielpour, Kirchner, Rouse) (1998)

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra):

• Yo-Yo Ma for Bach: The Unaccompanied Cello Suites (1985)

Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition:

• Stephen Albert (composer), David Zinman (conductor) & Yo-Yo Ma for Albert: Cello Concerto (1995)

Grammy Award for Best Classical Album:

• Steven Epstein (producer), David Zinman (conductor), Yo-Yo Ma & the Philadelphia Orchestra for Premieres - Cello Concertos (Works of Danielpour, Kirchner, Rouse) (1998)

Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album:

• Jorge Calandrelli (conductor) & Yo-Yo Ma for Soul of the Tango - The Music of Ástor Piazzolla (1999)
• Steven Epstein (producer), Richard King (engineer), Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer & Mark O'Connor for Appalachian Journey (2001)
• Jorge Calandrelli (conductor) & Yo-Yo Ma for Obrigado Brazil performed by various artists (2004)

Others:

• In 1999 he was awarded the prestigious Glenn Gould Prize.
• On May 31 2005, Ma was awarded an honorary Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Princeton University.

[edit] See also

• Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project

[edit] References in Media

In the TV sitcom Seinfeld, the character Cosmo Kramer says Yo-Yo Ma several times in the episode "The Pitch/The Ticket" (episodes 3 and 4 of season 4) after being kicked in the head.

Ma has also made a guest appearance on the animated series Arthur, though D.W. kept calling him "Yo Ma-Ma".

Ma appeared in the West Wing episode "Noël", in which he performed at a Christmas dinner at the White House. He is also referenced in the episode "Han".

In the movie School of Rock, Ma is referenced by Dewey Finn at the teachers table, saying "Yo-Yo Ma's cousin little Nepatiz."

In The Sopranos episode "University", Silvio Dante states his belief that Yo-Yo is Ma's nickname.

In The Simpsons episode, "Missionary: Impossible", when Homer is being chased by PBS, Yo-Yo Ma is seen in the crowd. He attacks Homer with his cello.

Japanese rapper Sphere of Influence has a rap song titled Yo! Yo! Ma. It features Chinese-American rapper Jin.

[edit] External links

• Official website