Yo-Yo Ma

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Biography

Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is a French-American cellist, virtuoso , and orchestral composer. He has received multiple Grammy Award s, the National Medal of Arts in 2001. National Endowment for the Arts . and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011.. Presidential Medal of Freedom . Ma is regarded by some as the most famous cellist of the modern age.

Early life

Yo-Yo Ma was born in Paris on October 7, 1955, to Overseas Chinese|Chinese parents and had a musical upbringing. His mother, Marina Lu, was a singer, and his father, Hiao-Tsiun Ma, was a violinist and professor of music at Nanjing National Central University. His family moved to New York when he was five years old.

At a very young age, Ma began studying violin, and later viola , before settling on the cello in 1960 at age four. According to Ma, his first choice was the double bass due to its large size, but he compromised and took up cello instead. The child prodigy began performing before audiences at age five, and performed for Presidents John F. Kennedy and Dwight D. Eisenhower when he was seven. At age eight, he appeared on American television with his sister, Yeou-Cheng Ma, in a concert conducted by Leonard Bernstein . By fifteen years of age, Ma had graduated from Trinity School (New York)|Trinity School in New York and appeared as a soloist with the Harvard Radcliffe Orchestra in a performance of the Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky Variations on a Rococo Theme|Rococo Variations .

Ma studied at the Juilliard School at age nine with Leonard Rose and briefly attended Columbia University before ultimately enrolling at Harvard University later on. Prior to entering Harvard, Ma played in the Marlboro Festival Orchestra under the direction of nonagenarian cellist and conductor Pablo Casals . Ma would ultimately spend four summers at the Marlboro Music Festival after meeting and falling in love with Mount Holyoke College sophomore and festival administrator Jill Hornor his first summer there in 1972.

However, even before that time, Ma had steadily gained fame and had performed with most of the world's major orchestras. His recordings and performances of Johann Sebastian Bach 's Cello Suites (Bach)|Cello Suites recorded in 1983 and again in 1994–1997 are particularly acclaimed. He has also played a good deal of chamber music , often with the pianist Emanuel Ax , with whom he has a close friendship back from their days together at the Juilliard School of Music in New York.

Ma received his bachelor's degree from Harvard in 1976. In 1991, he received an honorary doctorate from Harvard.

Career

Ma currently plays with his own Silk Road Project|Silk Road Ensemble , which has the goal of bringing together musicians from diverse countries all of which are historically linked via the Silk Road , and records on the Sony Classical label. Ma's primary performance instrument is the cello nicknamed Petunia , built by Domenico Montagnana in 1733. It was named this by a female student that approached him after one of his classes in Salt Lake City asking if he had a nickname for his cello. He said, "No, but if I play for you, will you name it? " She chose Petunia, and it stuck. This cello, more than 270 years old and valued at US$2.5& nbsp;million, was lost in the fall of 1999 when Ma accidentally left the instrument in a taxicab in New York City. | work=New York Times | author=Katherine E. Finkelstein | date=October 17, 1999 | accessdate=January 15, 2007 It was later recovered undamaged. Another of Ma's cellos, the Davidov Stradivarius , was previously owned by Jacqueline du Pré who passed it to him upon her death, and owned by the Vuitton Foundation . Though Du Pré previously voiced her frustration with the "unpredictability" of this cello, Ma attributed the comment to du Pré's impassioned style of playing, adding that the Stradivarius cello must be "coaxed" by the player. It was until recently set up in a Historically informed performance|Baroque manner , since Ma exclusively played Baroque music on it. He also owns a modern cello made by Peter and Wendela Moes of Peissenberg, Germany, and one of carbon fiber by the Luis and Clark company of Boston .

In 1997 he was featured on John Williams ' soundtrack to the Hollywood film, Seven Years in Tibet (1997 film)|Seven Years in Tibet . In 2000, he was heard on the soundtrack of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , and in 2003 on that of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World . He collaborated with Williams again on the original score for the 2005 film Memoirs of a Geisha (film)|Memoirs of a Geisha . Yo-Yo Ma has also worked with world-renowned Italian composer Ennio Morricone and has recorded Morricone's compositions of the Dollars Trilogy including The Good, the Bad and the Ugly . He also has over 75 albums, 15 of which are Grammy Award winners. Ma is a recipient of the International Center in New York's Award of Excellence.

Ma was named Peace Ambassador by UN then Secretary-General Kofi Annan in January 2006.

On November 3, 2009, President Obama appointed Ma to serve on the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. His music was featured in the 2010 documentary Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story , narrated by Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman .

Playing style

Notable live performances

Ma performed a duet with Condoleezza Rice at the presentation of the 2001 National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal Awards. Ma was the first performer on September 11, 2002, at the World Trade Center site|site of the World Trade Center , while the first of the names of the Casualties of the September 11 attacks|dead were read in remembrance on the first anniversary of the September 11 attacks|attack on the WTC . He played the Sarabande from Bach's Cello Suites (Bach)#Suite No. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011|Suite in C minor (#5) . He performed a special arrangement of Sting (musician)|Sting 's " Fragile (song)|Fragile " with Sting and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir during the opening ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City , Utah.

He performed John Williams ' " Air and Simple Gifts " at the Barack Obama 2009 presidential inauguration|inauguration ceremony for Barack Obama on January 20, 2009, along with Itzhak Perlman (violin), Gabriela Montero (piano) and Anthony McGill (clarinet). While the quartet did play 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 was quoted as saying "A broken string was not an option. It was wicked cold.". BBC News (January 23, 2009). Retrieved on July 1, 2011.

On May 3, 2009, Ma performed the world premiere of Bruce Adolphe 's "Self Comes to Mind" for solo cello and two percussionists with John Ferrari and Ayano Kataoka at the American 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 neuroscientist Antonio Damasio, and featured, at the premiere, a film of brain scans provided by Hanna Damasio plus other images, coordinated with the music during the performance.

On August 29, 2009, Ma performed at the funeral mass for Ted Kennedy|Senator Edward M. Kennedy . Pieces he performed included the Sarabande movement from J.S. Bach|Bach 's Cello Suites (Bach)|Cello Suite No. 6 , and César Franck|Franck 's Panis Angelicus with Placido Domingo .. Thebostonchannel.com (August 28, 2009). Retrieved on July 1, 2011.

On October 3, 2009, Ma appeared alongside Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the National Arts Centre gala in Ottawa. Harper, a noted fan of The Beatles , played the piano and sang a rendition of "With A Little Help From My Friends" while Ma accompanied him on his cello.

On October 16, 2011, Ma performed at the memorial for Steve Jobs held in Stanford University's Stanford Memorial Church|Memorial Church .

Media appearances

Ma has appeared in an episode of the animated children's television series, Arthur (TV series)|Arthur , as well as on The West Wing (episode " Noël (The West Wing)|Noël ", in which he performed the prelude to the Bach Cello Suite No.1 at a Christmas dinner at the White House), Sesame Street and '' Mister Rogers' Neighborhood . In The Simpsons episode " Missionary: Impossible ", Ma, (voiced by Hank Azaria ) runs after Homer Simpson along with many other frequent guests of Public Broadcasting Service|PBS .

He also starred in the visual accompaniment to his recordings of Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach's Cello Suites (Bach)|Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello .

Ma was also seen with former Apple Inc. and Pixar CEO Steve Jobs . Ma was often invited to press events for Jobs's companies, and has performed on stage during event keynote presentations, as well as appearing in a commercial for the Macintosh computer.

Ma was a guest on the Not My Job segment of '' Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! on April 7, 2007, where he won for listener Thad Moore.. NPR (April 7, 2007). Retrieved on July 1, 2011.

On October 27, 2008, Ma appeared as a guest and performer on The Colbert Report .. Comedycentral.com (June 27, 2011). Retrieved on July 1, 2011. He was also a show's guest on November 1, 2011, where he performed songs from The Goat Rodeo Sessions with fellow musicians Stuart Duncan , Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile .. colbertnation.com (November 1, 2011). Retrieved on November 2, 2011.

According to research done by Professor Henry Louis Gates|Henry Louis Gates, Jr. , of Harvard University, in 2010 for the PBS series Faces of America (PBS series)|Faces of America , in which Ma made an appearance, a relative had hidden the Ma family genealogy in his home in China to save it from destruction during the Cultural Revolution . Ma's paternal ancestry can be traced back eighteen generations to the year 1217. This genealogy had been 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's generation name , "Yo", had been decided by his fourth great grand-uncle, Ma Ji Cang, in 1755., PBS, Faces of America (PBS series)|Faces of America series, with Professor Henry Louis Gates|Henry Louis Gates, Jr. , 2010., Henry Louis Gates, Jr. The Daily Beast , February 9, 2010

Personal life

Ma married his long-time girlfriend Jill Hornor, a German language professor, in 1977. He proposed outside her apartment. They have two children, Nicholas and Emily, and reside in Winchester, Massachusetts . Ma's elder sister, Yeou-Cheng Ma, who was also born in Paris, is a violinist married to Michael Dadap , a New York–based guitarist from the Philippines.

Discography

Awards and recognitions

Avery Fisher Prize

1978

Award of Distinction (International Cello Festival)

2007

Dan David Prize

2006

Doctor of Musical Arts|Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) ( honoris causa )

2005 Princeton University

Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance :

Grammy Awards of 1996|1996 Johannes Brahms|Brahms / Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart : Clarinet Trios (Sony 57499)

Grammy Awards of 1993|1993 Johannes Brahms|Brahms : Sonatas for Cello & Piano (Sony 48191)

Grammy Awards of 1992|1992 Johannes Brahms|Brahms : Piano Quartets Op. 25, Op. 26 (Sony 45846)

Grammy Awards of 1987|1987 Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven : Cello and Piano Sonata No. 4 in C & Variations (CBS 42121)

Grammy Awards of 1986|1986 Johannes Brahms|Brahms : Cello and Piano Sonatas in E Minor Op. 38, and F Op. 99 (RCA 17022)

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

Grammy Awards of 1998|1998 Yo-Yo Ma Premieres – Danielpour, Kirchner, Rouse (Sony Classical 66299)

Grammy Awards of 1995|1995 The New York Album – Works of Stephen Albert|Albert , Béla Bartók|Bartók & Ernest Bloch|Bloch (Sony 57961)

Grammy Awards of 1993|1993 Sergei Prokofiev|Prokofiev : Sinfonia Concertante/ Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky : Variations on a Rococo Theme (Sony 48382)

Grammy Awards of 1990|1990 Samuel Barber|Barber : Cello Concerto, Op. 22/ Benjamin Britten|Britten : Symphony for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 68 (CBS 44900)

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

Grammy Awards of 1985|1985 Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach : The Unaccompanied Cello Suites (CBS 37867)

Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition :

Grammy Awards of 1995|1995 The New York Album , Stephen Albert : Cello Concerto (Sony 57961)

Grammy Award for Best Classical Album :

Grammy Awards of 1998|1998 Yo-Yo Ma Premieres – Danielpour, Kirchner, Rouse (Sony Classical 66299)

Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album :

Grammy Awards of 2010|2010 Songs of Joy & Peace (album)|Songs of Joy & Peace (Sony Classical B001BN1V8U)

Grammy Awards of 2004|2004 Obrigado Brazil (Sony 89935)

Grammy Awards of 2001|2001 Appalachian Journey (Sony 66782)

Grammy Awards of 1999|1999 Soul of the Tango – The Music of Ástor Piazzolla (Sony Classical 63122)

Glenn Gould Prize

1999

Kennedy Center Honors|Kennedy Center Honor

2011

Latin Grammy Awards|Latin Grammy for Best Instrumental Album

Latin Grammy Awards of 2004|2004 Obrigado Brazil (Sony 89935)

National Medal of Arts

2001

Presidential Medal of Freedom

Nominated: November 17, 2010. whitehouse.gov. Retrieved on July 1, 2011.

Awarded: February 15, 2011. Whitehouse.gov. Retrieved on July 1, 2011.

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1. Sarah Chang 2. John Williams 3. Ennio Morricone

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