Our final entry for the Revolutionary Music series of posts that have centered on individual musicians is about the cellist Yo-Yo Ma. He was born in Paris on October 7, 1955, and took up the cello when he was four years old. Just one year later, he made his professional debut. His family moved to the United States when he was seven, where he studied cello with the renowned cellist Leonard Rose at Julliard's preparatory division 1964–71. Before he was ten years old, he had performed for Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy, opens a new window and appeared on television with his sister with Leonard Bernstein. He made his New York debut when he was 15 years old. Rather than completing a degree at Julliard, he instead transferred to Harvard where he earned a degree in Humanities and continued his musical activities during summer vacations.
Ma began his life as a full-time musician in 1976 when he graduated from Harvard, and by 1978 had won the Avery Fisher Prize, making him the the third recipient of that award. In 1983 his recording of the six unaccompanied cello suites by J. S. Bach was released to much acclaim, and while he had put out earlier recordings, it was this album that really put him on the map. These suites have long been a favorite of his, and he recorded them again in 2018. On the podcast Song Exploder, Ma discusses the Prelude to the First Suite in G Major, which is a movement he has performed in many different settings: by a stream in the Great Smoky Mountains, opens a new window, various locations in New York City, opens a new window, a home studio, opens a new window, and many more locations. He has appeared on Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, opens a new window, Arthur, opens a new window, Sesame Street, opens a new window, NPR's Tiny Desk, opens a new window series, and with other performers like the mandolin player Chris Thile, opens a new window, the LA street dancer Lil Buck, opens a new window, James Taylor, opens a new window, the jazz trumpeter Chris Botti, the country singer Alison Krauss, opens a new window, the Iranian musician Kayhan Kalhor, opens a new window, and so many more.
Up until the 1990s, Ma's musical output was all classical music, but in this decade he started performing with musicians in other genres. 1992 saw the album Hush with Bobby McFerrin, which included their rendition of Flight of the Bumblebee, opens a new window. A few years later in 1996, he appeared with the bassist Edgar Meyer and the violinist Mark O'Connor on Appalachian Journey, which included O'Connor's loved composition Appalachia Waltz, opens a new window. The following year, Ma recorded The Soul of the Tango with music by the Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla, featuring the popular Libertango, opens a new window. He was featured in two works by the Chinese composer Tan Dun: Symphony 1997 and in the soundtrack to Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. At the start of the next decade, he formed the new group the Silk Road Ensemble, opens a new window. This group came together from a project he put together in 1998 where he brought together musicians from diverse cultures to create something new that would explore the musical styles along the ancient Silk Road trade route. This ensemble has been a huge success, and is currently led by Rhiannon Giddens.
Over the years he has won 18 Grammy awards including the Best Classical Crossover Album in 2009 (Yo-Yo Ma & Friends: Songs of Joy & Peace), Best World Music Album in 2016 (Yo-Yo Ma & Silk Road Ensemble: Sing Me Home), and Best Folk Album in 2012 (Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, & Chris Thile: The Goat Rodeo Sessions). He continues to record and perform worldwide, including in vaccine waiting rooms, opens a new window during the Pandemic.
Throughout 2024, the Boston Public Library is highlighting revolutionary musicians throughout history. In December, we celebrate Yo-Yo Ma, a cellist and living legend of the classical music scene whose performances have ventured into styles ranging from Baroque to bluegrass and incorporate folk music traditions all around the world. This list of genre-bending reads will appeal to his fans both new and old.
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