A chair and a cello: Yo-Yo Ma shows what matters

By Thomas May, 09 December 2015

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“a haunting simplicity beyond the complex gestures Bach uses to spin his polyphonic illusionism”

Reviewed at University of Washington: Meany Hall, Seattle on 8 December 2015

Saygun, Partita, Op.31

Bach, Cello suite no. 1 in G major, BWV1007

O'Connor, Appalachia Waltz

Bach, Cello suite no. 2 in D minor, BWV1008

Bach, Cello suite no. 6 in D major, BWV1012

Jiping, Summer in High Grassland

Traditional, El cant dels ocells

Yo-Yo Ma, Cello

Yo-Yo Ma thrills and enthralls Singapore audience

Chang Tou Liang, 25th September

At the threshold of seventy, Yo-Yo Ma still a box office dream, plays Dvořák with the Singapore Symphony.

****1

Yo-Yo Ma luxuriates in warm Saint-Saëns at Tanglewood

Kevin Wells, 10th August

Two Camille’s anchor the first half of Samy Rachid’s Tanglewood program: Saint-Saëns and Pépin.

****1

Definitive Dvořák from Ma and Honeck on festive Pittsburgh program

Sam Jacobson, 4th June

Yo-Yo Ma returns to Pittsburgh for searing performance of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto. The enjoyable program also includes a tribute to Fred Rogers.

****1

Splendid Shostakovich from Yo-Yo Ma and the Boston Symphony

Susan Stempleski, 24th April

A haunting account of Shostakovich’s First Cello Concerto is paired with a vivid rendition of his Eleventh Symphony.

****1

A masterclass in concert form: Yo-Yo Ma inspires in Gstaad

David Karlin, 31st January

Watching Ma inspire younger musicians is an extraordinary experience. Renaud Capuçon conducts an entertaining if imperfect Eroica.

****1

Inspired Dvořák and vibrant Smetana from the Czech Philharmonic

Susan Stempleski, 3rd December

Semyon Bychkov and the much-lauded ensemble are joined at Carnegie Hall by Yo-Yo Ma in dazzling performances from the Czech repertoire.

*****

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Thomas May

Thomas May is a writer and translator based in Seattle. His books include Decoding Wagner and The John Adams Reader, and he blogs about the arts at memeteria.com. He has written for The Washington Post, Gramophone, Listen, Symphony magazine, OPERA America, crosscut.com, and many other publications.

A chair and a cello: Yo-Yo Ma shows what matters in Seattle