Research Guides: Yo-Yo Ma: Biography

Yo-Yo Ma (Born October 7, 1955)

Ma became celebrated for performances and recordings of the standard cello repertoire and for receiving an unusually large number of commissions from contemporary composers. He frequently performed as part of a trio with pianist Emanuel Ax and violinist Young-Uck Kim and as part of a quartet with Ax and violinists Isaac Stern and Jaime Laredo. Ma and Ax received high acclaim for their recordings of the sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven (1985) and Johannes Brahms (1991). Of special interest to Ma were the six suites for unaccompanied cello by Johann Sebastian Bach, challenging masterpieces that were some of the first music he learned to play as a young boy. He recorded the suites in 1983 and again in 1998. Continue . . .

Source: “Ma, Yo-Yo.” Britannica Biographies, Mar. 2012, p. 1. From Academic Search Complete database.

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Yo-Yo Ma Official Website Yo-Yo Ma’s multi-faceted career is testament to his enduring belief in culture’s power to generate trust and understanding. Whether performing new or familiar works from the cello repertoire, collaborating with communities and institutions to explore culture’s role in society, or engaging unexpected musical forms, Yo-Yo strives to foster connections that stimulate the imagination and reinforce our humanity.
The Freewheelin’ Yo-Yo Ma The article offers the author's insights on her interview with U.S. cellist Yo-Yo Ma in which she describes that their conversation is a freestyle extemporisation that conventional question. She mentions that everything Ma says manifests his deep resolve to find connection between disciplines, philosophies, and genres. She adds that Ma's recorded output The Goat Road Sessions is a reunion with friends such as bassist Edgar Meyer and mandolinist Chris Thile.
Yo-Yo Ma: 30 Years Outside the Box The article reviews the classical music release "Yo-Yo Ma: 30 Years Outside the Box," featuring works such as "The Protecting Veil," composed by John Tavener, "Polonaise," composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and "Carnival Overture," composed by Antonin Dvorak.
Life’s Work: An Interview with Yo-Yo Ma An interview is presented with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, who discusses topics including his collaboration with other musicians in a group he formed called the Silk Road Ensemble, how he prepares for his performances, and his experience of fame as a child.
The Silk Road and beyond: A Conversation with James Cuno and Yo-Yo Ma Article from Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies
Yo-Yo Ma's Edge Effect Article from the Chronicle of Higher Education
Behind The Cello A personal narrative is presented which explores the author's experience of reflecting on the role of arts and creativity on his life and career as a cellist.
Academy Presents Scholar-Patriot Award to Yo-Yo Ma Short article from the Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Yo-Yo Ma by NPR Read, watch, listen to various interviews, concerts, podcasts about Yo-Yo Ma.
Silkroad Organization Yo-Yo Ma conceived Silkroad in 1998 as a reminder that even as rapid globalization resulted in division, it brought extraordinary possibilities for working together. Seeking to understand this dynamic, he began to learn about the historical Silk Road, recognizing in it a model for productive cultural collaboration, for the exchange of ideas and tradition alongside commerce and innovation. And in a radical experiment, he brought together musicians from the lands of the Silk Road to co-create a new artistic idiom, a musical language founded in difference, a metaphor for the benefits of a more connected world.
Yo-Yo Ma YouTube Channel The official channel of Yo-Yo Ma.
Yo-Yo Ma - Interview Yo-Yo Ma interviewed by Camilla Lundberg from 2012. Visit the world's first digital museum THE POLAR MUSIC ANTHOLOGY: http://www.polarmusicprize.org/ Yo-Yo Ma's room here: http://polarmusicprize.org/#yo-yo-ma