Transcript Louise

Yo-Yo Ma
BIOGRAPHY
Yo-Yo Ma gave his first public
recital at age 5 and by the time he
was 19 was being compared with
such masters as Rostropovich and
Casals. One of the most soughtafter cellists of our time, Mr. Ma
has appeared with eminent
conductors and orchestras in all the
music capitals of the world. He has
also earned a distinguished
international reputation as an
ambassador for classical music and
its vital role in society.
Highly acclaimed for his ensemble playing, Mr. Ma regularly
performs chamber music with a wide circle of colleagues. Over the
past several seasons, he has joined Emanuel Ax, Isaac Stem and
Jaime Laredo for performances and recordings of the piano quartet
repertoire, including works of Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorak, Fauré,
Mozart and Schumann. Mr. Ma's long-standing partnership with
Emanuel Ax is one of the music world's most successful
collaborations. Together they regularly perform duo recitals and
made many recordings, including the complete cello sonatas of
Beethoven and Brahms as well as works of Britten, Chopin,
Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff and Strauss, among others. During the
1995-96 season, they celebrated the 20th anniversary of their
partnership with a recital tour culminating at Carnegie Hall as well as
a special concert at Alice Tully Hall for PBS's "Live from Lincoln
Center."
Mr. Ma recently completed a collaborative project
of a different kind, creating films of Bach's Six
Cello Suites that explore the relationship between
Bach's music and other artistic disciplines. The first
of these, featuring original choreography of Mark
Morris set to the Third Cello Suite, was premiered
at the Edinburgh Festival in August 1995.
Subsequent films are to incorporate the work of the
renowned Kabuki artist Tamasaburo Bando, the
Italian architect Piranesi, Boston-based garden
designer Julie Moir Messervy, Olympic ice-dancing
champions Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean, and
Canadian film director Atom Egoyan.
An exclusive Sony Classical
recording artist, Yo-Yo Ma is a
ten-time Grammy award winner.
Among his recent releases are
Peter Lieberson's chamber work
"King
Gesar;" a disc of recent concertos by Kirchner, Rouse and
Danielpour with David Zinman and the Philadelphia Orchestra;
and a new work by Andre Previn, set to words by Toni Morrison,
with soprano Sylvia McNair and Mr. Previn as pianist. This fall
Sony Classical released "Appalachia Waltz," an album of
original music recorded in Nashville with fiddle player Mark
O'Connor and bassist Edgar Meyer.
C
ontemporary music,
particularly by American composers,
has for many years been an important part
of Mr. Ma's repertoire. Over the past
several seasons, he has premiered works
by Stephen Albert, William Bolcom, John
Corigliano, Richard Danielpour, David
Diamond, John Harbison, Lou Harrison,
Leon Kirchner, Ezra Laderman, Peter
Lieberson, Tod Machover, Christopher
Rouse, Bright Sheng and John Williams.
A very recent premiere of comtemporary music was
Heaven, Earth, Mankind: Symphony 1997, elebrating
the return of Hong Kong to Chinese Rule. Mr. Ma
developed a very close relationship with composer
Tan Dun and has recently given performances of the
symphony around the world. Alongside his extensive
performing and recording, Yo-Yo Ma devotes time to
work with young musicians in programs such as hose
at Interlochen and Tanglewood. He seeks to include
educational outreach activities in his regular touring
schedule as well, through master classes and more
informal interaction with student audiences.He is also
working to develop concerts for family udiences and
appeared with Emanuel Ax on Camegie Hall's family
series in 1995-96.
Bom in Paris in 1955 of Chinese parents,
Yo-Yo Ma began his cello studies with his
father at age 4. Later, he studied with
Janos Scholz and in 1962 he began his
studies with Leonard Rose at The Juilliard
School. A graduate of Harvard University,
he was accorded the special distinction of
an honorary doctorate in music in 1991 by
his alma mater. He was also the recipient
of the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize in
1978. Mr. Ma and his wife, Jill, have two
children, Nicholas and Emily.
He currently plays a Montagnana cello
from Venice made in 1733 and a
Davidoff Stradivarius made in 1712.