Role of the Performer

Apr 4, 2024

Yo-Yo Ma

Yo-Yo Ma’s Musical Journey– Yo-Yo Ma was born October 7th 1955 in Paris, France. He was a child prodigy at the age of 4 and had his first concert the year after. When he was 7 years old he had the opportunity to play for John F. Kennedy and President Eisenhower. At the age of 9 he was invited on the Tonight Show and the American Television Show. Yo-Yo was also book smart, he graduated his high school at the age of 15. For university, he attended Juilliard, and Columbia University until he changed school and went to Harvard to receive his bachelors in anthropology in 1976 and honorary doctorates in 1991.

What role does this performer serve? Music is popular than forgotten, this is why it is important for popular artist at the moment such a Yo-Yo Ma to play older pieces and make them enjoyed again. Every musicians emotions towards pieces are different so this can change the song. Yo-Yo Ma can make these compositions more or less emotional depending on how he interprets/portrays the piece.

Ave Maria by Yo-Yo Ma filmed by Taylor McKay

Dvořák featuring Yo-Yo Ma

Dvořák Musical elements that contribute to Yo-Yo Man talents in the second piece is timbre. He adds timbre to his piece at time stamp 30:15. Although he is playing the same note, the timbre changes when he adds more or less pressure on his bow and even when he changes his bow direction. Sometimes the same note sounds light while the next time its sounds very emotional and passionate. The intro of his solo was very strong that it caught my attention immediately. I felt like this could be background music for a drama film when new information gets shared. As it continued, Yo-Yo Ma played many different ways, his solos went from soft to aggressive and more.

Ave Maria Musical Elements– In the first piece Ave Maria, Yo-Yo Ma uses dynamics to make this piece emotional. This piece also changes from loud to soft which makes this piece also very powerful. Because of dynamics, I was able to recognize the mood and Yo-Yo Ma’s interpretation of this piece. Yo-Yo Ma was able to change my mood throughout this piece; I felt relaxed, sad, and sometimes lonely. In the second piece Dvořák the emotions changed more rapidly and had a wider range of emotions expressed. The second piece also had anger and joyous parts on top of the sad parts. The second piece is my favorite video out of the two because it tells a whole life story in 40 minutes.

Sources:

“Yo-Yo Ma.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 1 Mar. 2024, http://www.britannica.com/biography/Yo-Yo-Ma.

“Yo-Yo Ma’s Life and Career – 2024.” MasterClass, http://www.masterclass.com/articles/yo-yo-ma-life-and-career. Accessed 3 Apr. 2024.

“Yo-Yo Ma.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Mar. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yo-Yo_Ma.

“Biography.” YoYo Ma RSS, http://www.yo-yoma.com/biography/. Accessed 3 Apr. 2024.

3 responses to “Role of the Performer”

Amanda K.

April 4, 2024 at 11:40 am

I knew Yo-Yo Ma was a household-name cellist (maybe the only one in the world — I can’t think of any others whom I could mention and most people would go “oh yeah, that person”, ha), but I didn’t know he’d started at the age of 4! He definitely has an individual style in his way of playing the cello. I think the same piece in the hands of many very skilled cellists (or other instrumentalists, for that matter) often sounds “the same” and “correct,” without any special imprint of the performer, but Yo-Yo Ma is not like that at all! His performance is very much an “interpretation” of these pieces instead of just playing what’s on the staff. He adds a warmth that has nuance and finesse and isn’t at all bombastic. Like you said, he definitely adds his own, individual emotional experience to the works that he plays. I really like his solo/featured sections in the Dvořák piece. Thanks for sharing these!

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Harriet Casserly

April 5, 2024 at 2:08 pm

Yo-Yo Ma is dear to my heart! As exemplified in your post, his intelligence and skill give him reason for popularity. I had no idea he started playing music at 4 years old, that is incredible! I appreciate his individuality and emotion when he plays, as shown in the performances you linked.

His work reminds me of one of my favorite cellists, Jacqueline du Pré. Both cellists show such powerful emotion whilst playing.

Thank you for your post!

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Jonathan Grates

April 8, 2024 at 3:42 am

I have never heard of this performer, and it was an interesting read. I think it’s cool that he had the opportunity to play for JFK and Eisenhower and it isn’t something that everyone gets to do. The songs you listed are good. and I like how you broke them down by how you were feeling. A 40 minute piece is a lot of work and his work does speak for itself.

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