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.
Soledad
Yo-Yo Ma Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
la muerte a veces viste alegre, pareciendo amor,
pero es odio en su interior.
Silencio: eterna melodía en que hoy es ayer,
nunca marchita una espina cuando arde la piel.
Y los segundos apuñalan la inocenciade este silencio que acariciará tu ausencia.
Cuando quiero reír, lloro,
y al querer llorar sonrío,
cuando callo suspiro
y mientras hablo sollozo.
Jugando con el destino
y con mi miedo a perder,
soledad, que no olvido;
soledades de sed.
Oh, soledad.
Y los segundos apuñalan la inocencia
de este silencio que acariciará tu ausencia.
Y los segundos que me alejan de tu esencia
en la distancia desdibujan tu presencia.
Oh, soledad.
The lyrics of Yo-Yo Ma's song Soledad reveal a deeply introspective and reflective perspective on life and the elusive nature of emotions. The first verse highlights the often contradictory nature of emotions, how one can disguise their true feelings behind a smiling facade, and how death can sometimes mirror love. However, underneath these sentiments lies the harsh reality of hatred, which often remains hidden. The reference to silence as an eternal melody that never fades echoes the idea that inner turmoil and pain never truly go away, and how they can continue to haunt even as time goes by.
The second verse depicts the overwhelming power of silence in a person's life, and how it can strip away the innocence of our existence. The lines "Los segundos apuñalan la inocencia de este silencio que acariciará tu ausencia" (Seconds stab the innocence of this silence that will caress your absence) reveal the profound impact that silence can have on one's memory and how it can linger on even as someone is no longer present. The final verse highlights the irony of emotions, how one can smile in sadness and cry in joy, how one can speak with a heavy heart, and how fate and fear are constantly at play in our lives.
Overall, the lyrics of Soledad suggest that life is a complex and often contradictory phenomenon. It reveals how emotions can be deceptive and how silence can be both comforting and haunting. It is a powerful and deeply moving song that speaks to universal human experiences and the struggles we face in navigating the complexities of existence.
Line by Line Meaning
A veces el risueño esconde en su seno el terror,
Sometimes a smile hides fear within,
la muerte a veces viste alegre, pareciendo amor,
Death can sometimes appear as love, dressed up and full of joy,
pero es odio en su interior.
But deep inside it's hatred, not love, that abides there.
Silencio: eterna melodía en que hoy es ayer,
Silence is an unending melody, blurring the lines between now and before,
nunca marchita una espina cuando arde la piel.
The thorn cannot wither away even as it scorches the skin.
Y los segundos apuñalan la inocencia
The seconds stab at our innocence,
de este silencio que acariciará tu ausencia.
In this silence, your absence will be caressed.
Cuando quiero reír, lloro,
When I want to laugh, I cry,
y al querer llorar sonrío,
And when I want to cry, I smile,
cuando callo suspiro
When I am quiet, I breathe a sigh,
y mientras hablo sollozo.
And while I talk, I sob.
Jugando con el destino
Playing with fate,
y con mi miedo a perder,
And with my fear of loss,
soledad, que no olvido;
Solitude, which I can never forget;
soledades de sed.
Desolate roads seeking thirst to be fed.
Oh, soledad.
Oh, solitude.
Y los segundos apuñalan la inocencia
The seconds stab at our innocence,
de este silencio que acariciará tu ausencia.
In this silence, your absence will be caressed.
Y los segundos que me alejan de tu esencia
The seconds that distance me from your essence,
en la distancia desdibujan tu presencia.
Blur your presence in the distance.
Oh, soledad.
Oh, solitude.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Yo
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@isabelg.2450
He starts so delicately and without too much embellishments, and I wish others could understand that. This really comes from the soul
@ninasobel5599
Exquisitely mournful and sublime.I read that Piazzolla wrote the piece while grieving over his spouse's leaving him...not suprising. Would that all of us could do such wonders with our grief.
@MoonlightSonata0
how beautiful can it be.. :(
@ferube4171
es increible la contribucion a la cultura universal que ha hecho youtube
@louiskhan2951
excepcional, grandioso....
@peacenikkie
Love this. Love all things by Yo-Yo-Ma but this is an especially tender song. Thanks for sharing! ~0:'-)
@evillasu
Bello !! inspirador hermoso.
@agarratechocolate
a mi me da orgullo
@ferube4171
DIJE QUE NO ABRAN LOS OJOS SOLO DEJEN ACARICIAR EL ALMA
@krisrMassa
Siii..siii...tal cuál !