YO-YO MA – THE BACH PROJECT
August 24, 2019 - 8:30 pm

www.yo-yoma.com


YO-YO MA
YOHAN SEBASTIAN BACH
SIX SUITES FOR UNACCOMPANIED CELLO

Yo-Yo Ma is considered to be he greatest cellist in the world and his multi-faceted career is testament to his enduring belief in culture’s power to generate trust and understanding. Whether performing new or familiar works from the cello repertoire, collaborating with communities and institutions to explore culture’s role in society, or engaging unexpected musical forms, Yo-Yo Ma strives to foster connections that stimulate the imagination and reinforce our humanity.

YO – YO – MA

His discography of over 100 albums reflects his wide-ranging interests. This year, he begins a new journey, setting out to perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Six Suites for Solo Cello” in one sitting in 36 locations around the world, iconic venues that encompass our cultural heritage, our current creativity, and the challenges of peace and understanding that will shape our future. Each concert will be an example of culture’s power to create moments of shared understanding, as well as an invitation to a larger conversation about culture, society, and the themes that connect us all.

Throughout his illustrious career he has received numerous awards, namely 19 Grammy Awards and has performed for eight American presidents, most recently at the invitation of President Obama on the occasion of the 56th Inaugural Ceremony.

Yo-Yo Ma maintains a balance between engagements as a soloist with orchestras, recital and chamber music activities, and collaborations with a wide circle of artists and institutions. With partners from around the world and across disciplines, Yo-Yo Ma creates programs that stretch the boundaries of genre and tradition to explore music-making as a means not only to share and express meaning, but also as a model for the cultural collaboration he considers essential to a strong society.

Expanding upon this belief, in 1998 Yo-Yo Ma established Silkroad, a collective of artists from around the world who create music that engages their many traditions. This collective has seen him sell out performances in venues such as Suntory Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. Through his work with Silkroad, as well as throughout his career, Yo-Yo Ma seeks to expand the classical cello repertoire, frequently performing lesser known music of the 20th century and commissions of new concertos and recital pieces. He has premiered works by a diverse group of composers, among them Osvaldo Golijov, Leon Kirchner, Zhao Lin and John Williams, to name a few.

In addition to his work as a performing artist, Yo-Yo Ma partners with communities and institutions from Chicago to Guangzhou to develop programs that champion culture’s power to transform lives and forge a more connected world. Among his many roles, he is the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant;

artistic director of the annual Youth Music Culture Guangdong festival and UN Messenger of Peace. He is the first artist ever appointed to the World Economic Forum’s board of trustees.

FACEBOOK VIDEOS

DISCOGRAPHY

  • Finzi: Concerto for Cello and Orchestra Op. 40 (1978
  • Robert White Sings Beethoven (1979)
  • Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals | Variations on a Theme of
    Beethoven, OP. 35 | Polonaise, OP. 77 (1980)
  • Saint-Saëns and Lalo: Cello Concertos (1980)
  • Haydn: Cello Concertos (1981)
  • Beethoven: Complete Sonatas for Cello and Piano, Vol. 1 (1981)
  • Kreisler, Paganini (1982)
  • Bach: Sonatas for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord (1983)
  • Bach: The Six Unaccompanied Cello Suites (1983)
  • Shostakovich and Kabalevsky: Cello Concertos (1983)
  • Beethoven: Cello Sonatas, Op.5, Nos.1 & 2 (1983)
  • Kreisler, Paganini: Works (1983)
  • Bolling: Suite for Cello and Jazz Piano Trio (1984)
  • Beethoven: Complete Sonatas for Cello and Piano, Vol. 2 (1984)
  • Schubert: String Quintet (1984)
  • Haydn: Three Favorite Concertos — Cello, Violin and Trumpet
    Concertos (1984)
  • Beethoven Sonatas, Volume 2, No. 3, Op. 69; No. 5 Op. 102, No. 2 (1984)
  • Japanese Melodies (1985)
  • Elgar, Walton: Cello Concertos (1985)
  • Mozart: Divertimento, K.563 (1985)
  • Brahms: Sonatas for Cello and Piano (1985)
  • Schubert: Quintet in C Major (1985)
  • Strauss: Don Quixote; Schoenberg: Concerto (1986)
  • Beethoven: Complete Sonatas for Cello and Piano, Vol. 3 (1986)
  • Dvořák: Cello Concerto (1986)
  • Beethoven: Cello Sonata No.4; Variations (1986)
  • Boccherini: Concerto | J.C. Bach: Sinfonia Concertante and Grand Overture (1987)
  • Mozart: Adagio and Fugue in C Minor | Schubert: String Quartet No.15 (1987)
  • Beethoven: Complete Cello Sonatas (1987)
  • Schumann: Cello Concerto Fantasiestucke, Op. 73 | Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70 | Funf Stucke im Volkston, Op. 102 (1988)
  • Dvořák: Piano Trios (1988)
  • Brahms: Double Concerto; Piano Quartet (1988)
  • Shostakovich: Piano Trio | Cello Sonata (1988)
  • Barber: Cello Concerto | Britten: Symphony for Cello & Orchestra (1989)
  • Strauss and Britten: Cello Sonatas (1989)
  • Shostakovich: Quartet No.15 | Gubaidulina: Rejoice! (1989)
  • Anything Goes: Stephane Grappelli & Yo-Yo Ma Play (Mostly) Cole Porter (1989)
  • Great Cello Concertos: Dvořák, Elgar, Haydn, Saint-Saëns, Schumann (1989)
  • The Japanese Album (1989)
  • Portrait of Yo-Yo Ma (1989)
  • Shostakovich: Symphony No.5; Cello Concerto (1989)
  • Mozart: Serenade No. 10 | Sonata for Bassoon and Cello (1990)
  • Brahms: The Piano Quartets (1990)
  • A Cocktail Party (1990)
  • Strauss: Don Quixote; Die Liebe der Danae (1990)
  • Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff: Cello Sonatas (1991)
  • Tchaikovsky Gala in Leningrad (1991)
  • Brahms: Double Concerto; Berg: Chamber Concerto (1991)
  • Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No.1; Piano Concerto No.2; Violin Concerto No.3 (1991)
  • Hush with Bobby McFerrin (1992)
  • Prokofiev: Sinfonia Concertante | Tchaikovsky: Variations (1992)
  • Brahms: String Sextets | Theme and Variations for Piano (1992)
  • Brahms: Sonatas for Cello and Piano (1992)
  • Saint-Saëns: Organ Symphony; Bacchanale; Marche Militaire; Carnaval des animaux; Danse Macabre (1992)
  • Schoenberg: Verklarte Nacht | String Trio (1993)
  • Made in America (1993)
  • Yo-Yo Ma at Tanglewood (VHS) (1993)
  • Faure: Piano Quartets (1994)
  • Immortal Beloved  (1994)
  • Chopin: Chamber Music (1994)
  • The New York Album (1994)
  • Greatest Hits: Gershwin (1994)
  • Greatest Hits: Tchaikovsky (1994)
  • Beethoven, Schumann: Piano Quartets (1994)
  • Dvořák in Prague: A Celebration (1994)
  • Concertos from the New World (1995)
  • Greatest Hits: Saint-Saëns (1995)
  • Tackling the Monster: Marsalis on Practice (VHS) (1995)
  • Brahms, Beethoven, Mozart: Clarinet Trios (1995)
  • The Essential Yo-Yo Ma (1995)
  • Premieres: Cello Concertos by Danielpour, Kirchner and Rouse (1996)
  • Schubert and Boccherini String Quintets (1996)
  • Lieberson: King Gesar (1996)
  • Appalachia Waltz (1996)
  • Schubert: Trout Quintet; Arpeggione Sonata (1996)
  • Soul of the Tango, music of Ástor Piazzolla (1997)
    Liberty! (1997)
  • The Tango Lesson (1997)
  • Seven Years in Tibet (1997)
  • Symphony 1997 (1997)
  • Mozart: The Piano Quartets (1997)
  • From Ordinary Things (1997)
  • Goldschmidt: The Concertos (1997)
  • John Tavener: The Protecting Veil (1998)
  • Erich Wolfgang Korngold/ Schmidt: Music for Strings and Piano Left Hand (1998)
  • Inspired by Bach: “Falling Down Stairs” — Cello Suite No.3 (1998)
  • Inspired by Bach (1998)
  • Inspired by Bach: “Struggle For Hope” — Cello Suite No.5 (1998)
  • Inspired by Bach: “The Music Garden” — Cello Suite No.1 (1998)
  • Inspired by Bach: “Sarabande” — Cello Suite No.4 (1998)
  • Inspired by Bach: “The Sound of the Carceri” — Cello Suite No.2 (1998)
  • Inspired by Bach: “Six Gestures” — Cello Suite No.6 (1998)
  • John Williams Greatest Hits 1969–1999 (1999)
  • My First 79 Years (1999)
  • Solo (1999)
  • Brahms: Piano Concerto No.2, Cello Sonata Op.78 (1999)
  • Lulie the Iceberg (1999)
  • Songs and Dances (1999)
  • Franz Joseph Haydn (1999)
  • Simply Baroque with Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra (1999)
  • Inspired by Bach, Volume 2 (DVD) (2000)
  • Inspired by Bach, Volume 3 (DVD) (2000)
  • Tan Dun: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
  • Inspired by Bach, Volume 1 (DVD) (2000)
  • Corigliano: Phantasmagoria (The Fantasy Album) (2000)
  • Simply Baroque II with Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra (2000)
  • Appalachian Journey Live in Concert (VHS and DVD) (2000)
  • Appalachian Journey with Edgar Meyer and Mark O’Connor (2000)
  • Dvořák: Piano Quartet No.2, Sonatina in G, Romantic Pieces
  • Classic Yo-Yo (2001)
  • Classical Hits (2001)
  • Heartland: An Appalachian Anthology (2001)
  • Naqoyqatsi: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack composed by Philip Glass (2002)
  • Yo-Yo Ma Plays the Music of John Williams (2002)
  • Silk Road Ensemble: Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet (2002)
  • Meyer and Bottesini Concertos – Tracks 1-3 – Edgar Meyer: Concerto for Cello and Double Bass (2002)
  • Paris – La Belle Époque (2003)
  • Master and Commander: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2003)
  • Obrigado Brazil (2003)
  • The Dvořák Album (2004)
  • Vivaldi’s Cello (2004)
  • Obrigado Brazil Live (2004)
  • Silk Road Ensemble: Silk Road Journeys: Beyond the Horizon (2004)
  • Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone, arranged and conducted by Ennio Morricone (2005)
  • “Memoirs of a Geisha (soundtrack)”, with Itzhak Perlman (composed and conducted by John Williams) (2005)
  • Appassionato (2007)
  • Silk Road Ensemble: New Impossibilities (2008)
  • Songs of Joy & Peace (2008)
  • “Cinema Paradiso” on Chris Botti in Boston (2009)
  • 30 Years Outside the Box — Box set includes two bonus disks with various previously unreleased recordings (2009)
  • The Goat Rodeo Sessions (2011)
  • Before this World with James Taylor (2015)
  • Six Evolutions – Bach: Cello Suites (2018)

LIVE CONCERT