Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born to and partial… Read Full Bio ↴Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born to and partially raised by Chinese parents in Paris and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from the Juilliard School and Harvard University, attended Columbia University, and has performed as a soloist with orchestras around the world. He has recorded more than 92 albums and received 19 Grammy Awards.

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.

Cristal
Yo-Yo Ma Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

No puedo prometerte gloria,
no puedo, pero lo haré:
te prometo gloria.

He mutado otra vez la esencia:
ya no he venido a morir dentro de ti
ni de mí.

–Ven a mí.
–¿Dónde estás?
–En ti.
Soy ecos de un mañana
volando entre ayeres y cristal.

–Reir,
–O llorar,
Sentir que todo está en tu mano,
porque todo son ayeres y cristal.

¿Cuántas lágrimas necesitas
para una sonrisa dibujar?

No llores, amor,
yo lloraré nuestro amor,
y al amor y al amar lloraré.

Me llora el amor
y estoy llorando, amor
y de amor a la mar lloraré.

–Ven a mí.
–¿Dónde estás?
–En ti.
Soy ecos de un mañana

volando entre ayeres y cristal.

–Reir,
–O llorar,
Sentir que todo está en tu mano,
porque todo son ayeres y cristal.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Yo-Yo Ma's song "Cristal" convey a sense of longing and emotional depth. The opening lines, "No puedo prometerte gloria, no puedo, pero lo haré: te prometo gloria" (I cannot promise you glory, I cannot, but I will: I promise you glory), suggest a sense of humility and vulnerability. The singer acknowledges their limitations but still promises to offer something beautiful and transcendent.

The next lines, "He mutado otra vez la esencia: ya no he venido a morir dentro de ti ni de mí" (I have once again mutated the essence: I have not come to die within you or within myself), reveal a transformation within the singer. They no longer seek to lose themselves in someone else or in their own self-destruction.

The dialogue between the voices continues with the question "Ven a mí. ¿Dónde estás? En ti" (Come to me. Where are you? In you) and the response "Soy ecos de un mañana volando entre ayeres y cristal" (I am echoes of a tomorrow, flying between yesterdays and crystal). This exchange suggests a deep connection between the two voices, with one being present within the other and representing the possibility of a future that transcends past experiences.

The chorus, "Reir, o llorar, sentir que todo está en tu mano, porque todo son ayeres y cristal" (To laugh, or cry, to feel that everything is in your hand, because everything is yesterdays and crystal), expresses the dual nature of existence. It highlights the power of the individual to choose how to perceive and react to life's experiences, emphasizing that everything is a blend of past memories and fragility.

Throughout the lyrics, there is an exploration of the complex emotions surrounding love. The lines "No llores, amor, yo lloraré nuestro amor, y al amor y al amar lloraré" (Do not cry, my love, I will cry for our love, and I will cry for love and for loving) convey a deep empathy and willingness to bear the emotional burdens of a relationship. The repetition of "lloraré" (I will cry) suggests a profound emotional investment in love and the recognition that love encompasses both joy and sorrow.

Overall, "Cristal" invites listeners to reflect on the complexities of human emotions, the power of individual choice, and the transcendent nature of love.

CristalYo-Yo Ma Lyrics

Cristal
Yo-Yo Ma Lyrics