In addition to recordings of the standard classical repertoire, Ma has recorded a wide variety of folk music, such as American bluegrass music, traditional Chinese melodies, the tangos of Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla, and Brazilian music. He has also collaborated with artists from a diverse range of genres, including Bobby McFerrin, Carlos Santana, Chris Botti, Diana Krall, James Taylor, Miley Cyrus, and Sting.
Ma has been a United Nations Messenger of Peace since 2006. He has received numerous awards, including the Avery Fisher Prize in 1978, The Glenn Gould Prize in 1999, the National Medal of Arts in 2001, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011, Kennedy Center Honors in 2011, the Polar Music Prize in 2012, and the Birgit Nilsson Prize in 2022. He was named as one of Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2020. Aside from English, Ma is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and French.
Ma's primary performance instrument is the Davidov cello, made in 1712 by Antonio Stradivari
Ma's mother, Marina Lu, was a singer, and his father, Hiao-Tsiun Ma, was a violinist, composer and professor of music at Nanjing National Central University (now relocated in Taoyuan, Taiwan; predecessor of the present-day Nanjing University and Southeast University). They both migrated from the Republic of China to France during the Chinese Civil War. Ma's sister, Yeou-Cheng Ma, played the violin and piano professionally before obtaining a medical degree from Harvard and becoming a pediatrician. The family moved to New York City when Ma was seven.
From the age of three, Ma played the drums, violin, piano, and later viola, but settled on the cello in 1960 at age four. When three-year-old Yo-Yo said he wanted a big instrument, his father went to see Etienne Vatelot, a foremost violin maker in Paris who, after a chat, lent him a 1/16th cello. He jokes that his first choice was the double bass due to its large size, but he compromised and took up the cello instead. When his father realized that Yo-Yo was ready for a better teacher, a well-known cello instructor, Mme Michelle Lepinte, was selected. He began performing before audiences at age five and played for presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy when he was seven. At age eight, he appeared on American television with his sister in an event introduced by Leonard Bernstein. In 1964, Isaac Stern introduced them on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and they performed the Sonata of Sammartini. He attended Trinity School in New York but transferred to the Professional Children's School, where he graduated at age 15. He appeared as a soloist with the Harvard Radcliffe Orchestra in a performance of Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations.
Ma studied at the Juilliard School at age 19 with Leonard Rose and attended Columbia University, but dropped out. He later enrolled at Harvard College. Prior to entering Harvard, Ma played in the Marlboro Festival Orchestra under the direction of cellist, conductor and Ma’s childhood hero Pablo Casals. He spent four summers at the Marlboro Music Festival after meeting and falling in love with Mount Holyoke College sophomore and festival administrator Jill Hornor during his first summer there in 1972.
Even before that time, Ma gained fame and performed with many of the world's major orchestras. He has also played chamber music, often with pianist Emanuel Ax, with whom he has a close friendship from their days at Juilliard. Ma received his bachelor's degree in anthropology from Harvard in 1976, and in 1991 received an honorary doctorate from Harvard.
Yo-Yo Ma has been referred to by critics as "omnivorous" and possesses an eclectic repertoire. In addition to numerous recordings of the standard classical repertoire, he has recorded Baroque pieces using period instruments; American bluegrass music; traditional Chinese melodies, including the soundtrack to the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; the tangos of Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla; Brazilian music, recording traditional and contemporary songs composed by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Pixinguinha; a collaboration with Bobby McFerrin (where Ma admitted to being terrified by McFerrin's improvisation); and the music of modern minimalist Philip Glass, in such works as the 2002 Naqoyqatsi.
Ma is known for his smooth, rich tone, soulful lyricism, and virtuosity. He released a cello recording of Niccolò Paganini's Caprice No. 24 for solo violin and Zoltán Kodály's Solo Sonata.
On May 1, 2019, he performed at Paranal Observatory in the Atacama desert. He said that his interest in astronomy motivated him to visit and perform there.
Ma's albums include recordings of cello concertos, sonatas for cello and piano, works for solo cello, and a variety of chamber music. He has also recorded in non-classical styles, notably in collaboration with artists such as Bobby McFerrin, Carlos Santana, Chris Botti, Chris Thile, Diana Krall, James Taylor, Miley Cyrus and Sting.
All Through the Night
Yo-Yo Ma Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For I'm always so alone till the day draws to an end,
But when the sun goes down and the moon comes through,
To the monotone of the evening's drone I'm all alone with you.
All through the night,
I delight in your love,
All through the night you're so close to me!All through the night,
From a height far above,
You and your love brings me ecstasy!
When dawn comes to waken me,
You're never there at all!
I know you've forsaken me
Till the shadows fall,
But then once again I can dream, I've the right
To be close to you all through the night.
The lyrics of Yo-Yo Ma Stuart Duncan Edgar Meyer Chris Thile Aoife O'Donovan's song "All Through The Night" paint a picture of solitude and longing. The singer appears to be someone who is lonely during the day, but finds comfort and solace in the night, when they feel a sense of intimacy and connection to their lover. The contrast between the day and night is stark - the day is described as the singer's enemy, while the night is their friend. The lyrics suggest that the singer's relationship with their lover is perhaps complicated or not fully realized, and they are only able to feel truly close to their partner under the cover of darkness.
The repeated refrain of "All through the night" lends a sense of longing and desire to the song, as the singer expresses their delight and ecstasy in their lover's affection. However, there is a melancholic undercurrent to the lyrics - the singer knows that their lover is not there when they wake up in the morning, and they feel a sense of abandonment until night falls once more. Despite this, the lyrics suggest that the singer takes solace in the moments they share with their lover under the stars, dreaming of a connection that lasts beyond the nighttime.
Line by Line Meaning
The day is my enemy, the night my friend,
I am surrounded by loneliness during the day but when night comes, it provides me solace.
For I'm always so alone till the day draws to an end,
Throughout the day I feel alone and unable to connect with anyone.
But when the sun goes down and the moon comes through,
When the sun sets and the moon rises, my spirits are elevated.
To the monotone of the evening's drone I'm all alone with you.
I am in a state of peace with only you by my side while listening to the sounds of the night.
All through the night, I delight in your love,
During the night, I revel in the satisfaction that comes from being loved.
All through the night you're so close to me!
All night long, I am surrounded by your love and presence.
All through the night, From a height far above,
Throughout the night, I feel as if I am on top of the world, with you by my side.
You and your love brings me ecstasy!
Your love alone brings me overwhelming happiness and joy.
When dawn comes to waken me, You're never there at all!
When morning arrives and I wake up, I find myself completely alone without you.
I know you've forsaken me Till the shadows fall,
I am aware that you have left me until it's dark again.
But then once again I can dream, I've the right To be close to you all through the night.
However, I can still hold on to a glimmer of hope and dream of being next to you through the night once more.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: COLE PORTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@lydiakies9053
Me, seeing Chris Thile in title: WHOA!
Also me: Wait. That is not what I thought he looked like.
starts to get misty, because... Favorite lullaby
Brian: IS THAT YO-YO MA?!?!
Checks title again
Dammit. full on cries
@jiyuzanandrewrockwell2676
Sleep my child and peace attend thee
All through the night
Guardian angels God will lend thee
All through the night
Soft the drowsy hours are creeping
Hill and vale in slumber sleeping
I my loving vigil keeping
All through the night
Love to thee my thoughts are turning
All through the night
All for thee my heart is yearning
All through the night
Though sad fate our lives may sever
Parting will not last forever
There's a hope that leaves me never
All through the night
Though I roam a minstrel lonely
All through the night
My true harp shall praise sing only
All through the night
Love's young dream alas is over
Yet my strains of love will hover
Near the presence of my lover
All through the night
Sleep my child and peace attend thee
All through the night
Guardian angels God will send thee
All through the night
Soft the drowsy hours are creeping
Hill and vale in slumber sleeping
I my loving vigil keeping
All through the night
@lydiakies9053
Me, seeing Chris Thile in title: WHOA!
Also me: Wait. That is not what I thought he looked like.
starts to get misty, because... Favorite lullaby
Brian: IS THAT YO-YO MA?!?!
Checks title again
Dammit. full on cries
@jonathandavies5532
From a native, Welsh speaking Welshman. Thank you for this most beautiful, meliflous and perfect version of 'Ar Hyd Y Nos' - I could not help but cry out of happiness and 'Hiraeth' - I'll just keep on coming back to this time after time. Thank you. Diolch o'r Galon. Cymru am Byth.
@micheal49
Not enough upvotes in the world for this one!
@mybillsgirl
My grandparents always sang this to me at bedtime. Precious, brought tears to these old eyes.
@johnduffy6546
in the immortal words of John Denver, "music makes pictures and often tells stories, all of it magic and all of it true''
@christinedureau3467
Lovely, reflective rendition
@5346565
My father used to sing this to me sixty years ago when I would not settle at night. So nice to find it here.
@PeteDawkins-r5s
Stunning .......
@jonmars9559
Chris Thile has a wonderful voice but when Aoife sings in that pure toned, pitch perfect voice of hers, I get chills. Such a gift.
@jamestierney2531
Agreed. And being on stage with the great Yo-yo Ma..no pressure, right?
@jonmars9559
@@jamestierney2531 I miss 'Live From Here' and the vast talent that would come together and perform of our enjoyment. There is such talent, skill, artistry and experience on this stage as to boggle the mind and steal away the heart. Yo-yo Ma and Edgar Meyer sitting in and chillin' seems so natural you could almost take it for granted.