Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma ( Chinese 馬友友 , Pinyin Mǎ Yǒuyǒu ) (born October 7, 1955 in Paris ) is an American cellist . His discography includes more than 100 albums , which earned him 19 Grammys (as of 2020).
Life
Ma, son of the Hong Kong singer Marina Lu and the violinist , music professor and conductor Hiao-Tsiun Ma, began playing the cello at the age of four. When he was seven years old, his family moved to New York City and by the age of eight he was already appearing on American television with Leonard Bernstein . Bernstein also referred him to the Juilliard School , where he became a student of Leonard Rose .

In addition to classical music , he has also released albums with Bobby McFerrin and an album with tango pieces by Astor Piazzolla .
In 1998, Yo-Yo Ma developed the idea of bringing musicians from different cultures together. He organized a first meeting with musicians from the countries of the historic Silk Road . From this project, the Silkroad Ensemble emerged in 2000 with artists from numerous countries who appear in diverse formations around the world and convey the cultural richness of their various musical traditions. The ensemble publishes videos of its activities on YouTube.
Ma accompanied on 20 January 2009, the inauguration ceremony of Barack Obama with a quartet and of John Williams composed piece that works by Aaron Copland contained. On August 29, 2009, he played in a service in Boston in honor of the late Senator Edward Kennedy . In 2011 he recorded the album The Goat Rodeo Sessions with Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile .
Yo-Yo Ma is married and has two children. He plays three cellos: an instrument by Moes & Moes (2003), a cello by Domenico Montagnana (1733) and the “Dawidow” by Stradivari (1712). The Stradivari cello is named after Karl Juljewitsch Dawidow . It has been owned by LVMH since 1988 ; previously it belonged to Jacqueline du Pré .
Discography
In 2011 a collection of 90 CDs ( 30 Years Outside the Box ) was released containing all of the recordings Yo-Yo Ma made for CBS and Sony Classical .
Albums
year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
---|---|---|---|
![]() |
|||
1992 | Hush |
US93 (18 weeks) US |
with Bobby McFerrin
|
2000 | Appalachian Journey |
US170 (2 weeks) US |
with Edgar Meyer and Mark O'Connor
First published: 1999 |
2001 | Classic yo-yo |
US180 (4 weeks) US |
|
2002 | Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet |
US153 (4 weeks) US |
with The Silk Road Ensemble
First published: 2001 |
2003 | Obrigado Brazil |
US58 (14 weeks) US |
|
2004 | Vivaldi's cello |
US175 (4 weeks) US |
|
2004 | Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone |
US171 (2 weeks) US |
with Roma Sinfonietta Orchestra ( Morricone )
|
2005 | Memoirs of a Geisha |
US163 (1 week) US |
|
2007 | Appassionato |
US79 (5 weeks) US |
|
2007 | New Impossibilities |
US152 (1 week) US |
with The Silk Road Ensemble and
Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Miguel Harth-Bedoya) |
2008 | Yo-Yo Ma & Friends: Songs of Joy & Peace |
US20 (17 weeks) US |
|
2011 | The Goat Rodeo Sessions |
US18 (13 weeks) US |
with Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile
|
2015 | Songs from the Arc of Life |
US137 (1 week) US |
with Kathryn Stott
|
2017 | Bach trios |
US141 (1 week) US |
with Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile
|
More albums
- 1980: Saint-Saëns : Carnival of the Animals (Chamber Version) (with Philippe Entremont and Gaby Casadesus)
- 1980: Cello Concertos (with Lorin Maazel and Orchester National de France )
- 1980: Triple Concerto in C major Op. 56 for piano, violin and violoncello (triple concerto) ( Beethoven : with Berliner Philharmoniker , Mark Zeltser, Anne-Sophie Mutter , Herbert von Karajan )
- 1982: Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2 (Beethoven: with Emanuel Ax )
- 1983: The Unaccompanied Cello Suites / Suites for Violoncello / Les Suites Pour Violoncelle Seul - Vol. 1, Suites Nos. 1 & 2 (Bach)
- 1983: The Unaccompanied Cello Suites Vol. 2 - Suites Nos. 3 & 4 (Bach)
- 1983: The Unaccompanied Cello Suites Vol. 3 Suites Nos. 5 & 6 (Bach)
- 1983: The Six Unaccompanied Cello Suites / 6 Suites for Violoncello / Les 6 Suites Pour Violoncelle Seul (complete) ( Bach )
- 1983: Sonatas for Viola da Gamba & Harpsichord (Bach: with Kenneth Cooper)
- 1983: Cello Concerto No. 1 ( Shostakovich : with Ormandy and Philadelphia Orchestra )
- 1983: Saint-Saëns, Lalo: Cello Concertos
- 1983: Kreisler, Paganini: Works
- 1984: Japanese Melodies
- 1984: Quintet, Op. 163, D. 956 (C major) ( Schubert : with Cleveland Quartet)
- 1984: Haydn: Three Favorite Concertos - Cello, Violin and Trumpet Concertos
- 1984: Beethoven: Cello Sonatas Nos. 3 and 5
- 1984: Bolling: Suite for Cello and Jazz Piano Trio
- 1984: Shostakovich, Kabalevsky: Cello Concertos
- 1985: Sonatas for Cello and Piano ( Brahms : with Emanuel Ax)
- 1985: Divertimento, K. 563 ( Mozart : with Gidon Kremer and Kim Kashkashian )
- 1985: Elgar, Walton: Cello Concertos (with London Symphony Orchestra and André Previn )
- 1985: Strauss: Don Quixote; Schoenberg: Cello Concerto (with Seiji Ozawa , Boston Symphony Orchestra , Strauss , Schoenberg )
- 1986: Dvořák : Cello Concerto, Op. 104 / Rondo, Op. 94 / Waldesruhe, Op. 68 No. 5 (with Berliner Philharmoniker and Lorin Maazel )
- 1986: Beethoven: Cello Sonata No. 4; Variations
- 1986: Haydn: Cello Concertos
- 1987: Concerto for Cello & Orchestra, G. 482 / Symphonie Concertante for Violin, Cello & Orchestra / Grand Overture (Symphony) for Double Orchestra Op. 18, No. 1 ( Boccherini , JC Bach , Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Pinchas Zukerman )
- 1987: Schubert: Quartet No. 15, D. 887; Mozart: Adagio & Fugue K.546 (with Kim Kashkashian, Daniel Phillips, Gidon Kremer)
- 1987: Beethoven: Complete Cello Sonatas
- 1987: Boccherini: Cello Concerto; JC Bach: Sinfionia Concertante
- 1987: Mozart: Adagio and Fugue in C Minor; Schubert: String Quartet No. 15th
- 1988: Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 2; Cello Sonata
- 1988: Dvořák: Piano Trios
- 1988: Schumann: Cello Concerto; Adagio and Allegro; Fantasy pieces; more ( Sir Colin Davis conducting Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra )
- 1988: Brahms: Double Concerto; Piano Quartet No. 3
- 1989: Symphony No. 5 / Cello Concerto No. 1 ( Shostakovich : with New York Philharmonic and Leonard Bernstein , Philadelphia Orchestra and Eugene Ormandy )
- 1989: Anything Goes (with Stéphane Grappelli )
- 1989: Great Cello Concertos: Dvořák, Elgar, Haydn, Saint-Saëns, Schumann
- 1989: R. Strauss, Britten: Cello Sonatas (with Emanuel Ax)
- 1989: Shostakovich: Quartet No.15; Gubaidulina: Rejoice
- 1989: The Japanese Album
- 1989: Portrait of Yo-Yo Ma
- 1989: Barber: Cello Concerto; Britten: Symphony for Cello andamp; Orchestra
- 1990: Saint-Saëns Concertos (with Cecile Licad and Cho-Liang Lin )
- 1990: Claudio Abbado - Brahms - Double Concerto; Berg - Chamber Concerto
- 1990: Brahms: The Piano Quartets
- 1990: A Cocktail Party
- 1990: Mozart: Serenade, K.361; Sonata for Bassoon and Cello, K.292
- 1990: Strauss: Don Quixote; The love of Danae
- 1991: Tchaikovsky Gala in Leningrad (with Jessye Norman , Itzhak Perlman , Leningrad Philharmonic *, Yuri Temirkanov)
- 1991: Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev: Cello Sonatas
- 1991: Brahms: Double Concerto; Berg: Chamber Concerto
- 1991: Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1; Piano Concerto No. 2; Violin Concerto No. 3
- 1992: Sonatas for Cello and Piano (Brahms: with Emanuel Ax)
- 1992: Brahms: String Sextets Opp. 18 & 36 (with Stern , Lin , Laredo , Tree and Robinson ; 2 CDs)
- 1994: Immortal Beloved (Beethoven: with Sir Georg Solti , Emanuel Ax, Pamela Frank, Gidon Kremer, Murray Perahia and London Symphony Orchestra )
- 1994: Beethoven / Schumann Piano Quartets (Beethoven / Schumann: with Stern, Laredo and Ax)
- 1994: The New York Album (with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and David Zinman )
- 1995: Triple Concerto, Choral Fantasy (Beethoven: with Itzhak Perlman and Daniel Barenboim )
- 1995: Concertos from the New World (Dvořák / Herbert : with New York Philharmonic and Kurt Masur )
- 1996: Appalachia Waltz (with Edgar Meyer and Mark O'Connor)
- 1996: Premieres - Cello Concertos (with Philadelphia Orchestra , David Zinman , Danielpour , Kirchner and Rouse )
- 1996: Fire Water Paper: A Vietnam Oratorio (with Goldenthal , Panagulias , Maddalena , Pacific Symphony Orchestra and St. Clair )
- 1996: Quintets (Schubert, Boccherini, Stern, Lin, Laredo, Ma, Robinson)
- 1997: Soul of the Tango (The Music of Astor Piazzolla) (with Astor Piazzolla )
- 1997: The Cello Suites: Inspired by Bach
- 1997: The Concertos ( Goldschmidt : with Sabine Meyer and Chantal Juillet)
- 1997: Symphony 1997 ( Tan Dun )
- 1998: The Protecting Veil / Wake Up… and Die
- 1999: Solo
- 1999: Simply Baroque (with Ton Koopman and The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra )
- 2000: Phantasmagoria (John Corigliano: with Emanuel Ax and James Tocco)
- 2001: Cello Suite Nos. 1, 5 & 6 ( Bach )
- 2001: Mozart (with Gidon Kremer and Kim Kashkashian)
- 2001: Heartland: An Appalachian Anthology
- 2002: Yo-Yo Ma Plays the Music of John Williams
- 2002: Meyer - Bottesini: Concertos (Edgar Meyer with Joshua Bell , Yo-Yo Ma, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Hugh Wolff )
- 2002: Naqoyqatsi : Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (with Philip Glass )
- 2003: Paris - La belle époque
- 2004: Silk Road Journeys: Beyond the Horizon (with The Silk Road Ensemble)
- 2004: Obrigado Brazil Live in Concert
- 2004: The Dvořák Album
- 2006: The Six Unaccompanied Cello Suites (Bach)
- 2006: US Winter Tour: Madison, WI. Overture Hall (with The Silk Road Ensemble)
- 2008: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - film + soundtrack (with Tan Dun)
- 2010: Piano Trios Op. 49 & 66 ( Mendelssohn : with Emanuel Ax and Itzhak Perlman)
- 2013: A Playlist without Borders (with The Silk Road Ensemble)
- 2018: Six Evolutions - Bach: Cello Suites
Singles
year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
---|---|---|---|
![]() |
|||
2010 | While My Guitar Gently Weeps |
CH46 (2 weeks) CH |
Santana feat. India.Arie and Yo-Yo Ma
|
More singles
- 1992: Hush Little Baby (with Bobby McFerrin )
Awards
Grammys
- 1984: for Bach: Six Unaccompanied Cello Suites - Best Classical Performance-Instrumental Soloist (s) (with orchestra)
- 1985: for Elgar: Cello Concerto / Walton: Concerto For Cello & Orchestra - Best Classical Performance-Instrumental Soloist (s) (with orchestra)
- 1985: for Brahms: Sonatas for Cello and Piano - Best Chamber Music Performance
- 1986: for Beethoven: The Sonatas for Piano; Variations, WoO. 46; Variations, Op. 66 - Best Chamber Music Performance
- 1989: for Barber: Cello Concerto / Britten: Symphony For Cello - Best Classical Performance-Instrumental Soloist (s) (with orchestra)
- 1991: for Brahms: The Piano Quartets, Op.25 & Op.26, Op.60 - Best Chamber Music Performance
- 1992: for Prokofiev: Sinfonia Concertante / Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme / A - Best Classical Performance-Instrumental Soloist (s) (with orchestra)
- 1994: for The New York Album - Best Classical Performance-Instrumental Soloist (s) (with orchestra)
- 1995: for Brahms / Beethoven / Mozart: Clarinet Trios - Best Chamber Music Performance
- 1997: for Premiers - Best Classical Album + Best Classical Performance-Instrumental Soloist (s) (with orchestra)
- 1998: for Soul of the Tango: Music of Astor Piazzolla - Best Classical Crossover Album
- 2000: for Appalachian Journey - Best Classical Crossover Album
- 2003: for Obrigado Brazil - Best Classical Crossover Album
- 2009: for Yo-Yo Ma & Friends: Songs of Joy & Peace - Best Classical Crossover Album
- 2012: for Goat Rodeo Sessions - Best Folk Album
- 2016: for Sing Me Home - Best World Music Album
Others (selection)
- 1993: Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- 1999: Member of the American Philosophical Society
- 1999: Glenn Gould Prize
- 2008: Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters
- 2011: Presidential Medal of Freedom , awarded by Barack Obama
- 2012: Polar Music Prize , together with Paul Simon
Web links
- Official website (English)
- Yo-Yo Ma at Allmusic
- Yo-Yo Ma at Discogs (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Life & Music website by Yo-Yo Ma, accessed August 3, 2020.
- ↑ Silkroad: About Us silkroad.org
- ↑ The Silkroad Ensemble silkroad.org
- ^ Homepage of Silkroad
- ↑ Videos from Silkroad on YouTube
- ↑ 1712 Cello "Davidoff (Davidov)" Archivio della Liuteria Cremonese
- ↑ Yo-Yo Ma - 30 Years Outside the Box jpc.de
- ↑ a b c Yo-Yo Ma: Awards allmusic.com
- ^ Honorary Members American Academy of Arts and Letters
- ^ President Obama Names Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients press release, November 17, 2010.
- ↑ Yo-Yo Ma: Laureate of the Polar Music Prize 2012 polarmusicprize.org
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Ma, yo-yo |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Chinese-American cellist |
DATE OF BIRTH | October 7, 1955 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Paris |