Come on now, award Yo Yo Ma the Nobel Peace Prize already!
12
NYTimes you got it wrong. DC was not the next stop on his 36-city tour, it is Oakland/ Berkeley where he graced the downtown Oakland crowd to be in- community, inspiring us. Then playing the Suites tonight in Berkeley.
4
Terry Gilliam recently decided to become a black lesbian, because, as a white male, he was tired of being blamed for everything wrong with the world.
It's good, from time to time, to remember that some of those old white guys shaped a period in history unique in its achievement. Turning away from superstition and ignorance, The Enlightenment continues to enlighten, and if we filter it correctly it can help us out of the darkness which appears to be consuming our world again. And what more perfect guide than this Chinese-French-American guy to bring the 17th century into the 21st with seamless grace.
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He's performing tonight in UC Berkeley's Greek Theater. Great to have the article in today's paper to aid my appreciation.
2
My piano professor in college said "Never not be playing a piece by Bach". Great advice which I still follow.
9
What the world needs is to transform noisy clashing into counterpoint. Good luck.
8
I believe it was Casals who began each day with Bach at the keyboard before moving on to the cello. It centered him. As a guitarist, It does the same for me by providing technical, artistic and spiritual challenges.
I have always considered myself a fortunate person to be able to experience Bach and great art, when the vast majority of the planet probably doesn't even know who he was.
Ma's quest for enlightening the planet is noble one. It is heartening to know there are 'good guys' trying to heal our ills.
We are hard pressed to find greater ambassadors (Ma and Bach) in these troubling times.
19
Now let's see Mr. Ma go perform in Iran. They'll have his instrument broken into tiny pieces, him stoned to death for being a westerner, and all his wonderful talk about Bach saving the world will be worth exactly what it's worth in Europe...zero. It's great you can play classical music, but how about leaving the politics alone, Mr. Ma.
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@Mike
It is often difficult, if not virtually impossible, for some to separate ideology from reality, and your comment seems to be an example of that.
Yes, western music (amongst other things) were banned there for some years following ouster of the Shah in 1979, but t here is a rich and long tradition of classical music in Iran, both based on the works of Persian composers, as well as those of the mainstream Western tradition, and it began to return in earnest within the last decade.
This article from The Guardian about the Tehran Symphony Orchestra is worth reading: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/06/tehrans-reborn-symphony-or... .
Also, quick Web search will reveal numerous performances (many at YouTube).
Finally, were Mr. Ma to perform there, far from "his instrument broken into tiny pieces, him stoned to death for being a westerner," it is safe to say that it would be to standing-room audiences — and great acclaim and admiration.
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Mike: Leave the music to the big boys. Put down the beers.
11
It is actually *not* "safe to say" that Mr. Ma would be safe or welcome in Iran. That's incredibly naive and wishful thinking. Read your own short post. Here at the Times that sort of nonsense passes unchallenged. Like Samantha Smith's 80's banalities - "Please, can't we all just get along"- it ignores the reality that there is evil in the world and, despite what youre reading at these pages, that evil in not constrained to heterosexual, white, American male Christians from prep schools. Some of that evil will just as happily bomb you, shoot you, or ban your kind, nevermind what you learned at Middlebury, Banyon, or in Sociology 101.
5
Please record this in HD so all can experience this wonderful music by an unequaled artist
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Saving the Worlds Children with a Gift from Germany: The Worlds Children Peace Monument (WCPM) is an original sculpture conceived during EXPO 2000, the Worlds Fair held in Hannover, Germany by American Cultural Ambassadors David and Renate Jakupca. It was designed and built by David Jakupca at the historic ARK in Berea as a project of the International Center for Environmental Arts (ICEA) in cooperation with the United Nations 2000 Culture of Peace Program. The concept of a physical permanent universal symbol of renewal and living peace for all living things was organized in support of the UN Decade of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World and the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. The incorporation of the rights of flora and fauna in a "Universal Peace Equation" is the first major change in achieving a sustainable global Culture Peace on Earth in over 2000 Years.
The WCPM is another step forward to nationalizing ‘Great American Peace Trail’, the coast-to-coast trail of WCPM Peace Stones in city parks designed to stop the violence in America’s youth. The WCPM also serves as a milestone for the 'Theory of Iceality', the Science behind Peace and Global Harmony that is the practical study on the aesthetics of the relationship between Humans and their Environment through Arts and Culture, ultimately promoting an effective sustainable global Culture of Peace between all Living Things ~ Human, Plant and Wildlife Kingdoms!
1
Bach & Ma- that's about as Suite as life gets...
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Title of album seems to be Six Evolutions, although it is hard to see it through the Spotify label. Great article about how music transcends!
5
I do not know whether Bach will save - or indeed has, at various times, saved - the world but I find him, in all his variety, a daily salve.
As the piece suggests, his work is not entirely cerebral; it is rooted in dance.
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@Christopher Hawtree
Thank you, Christopher, “Dance,” you said, and now 88 years young, life-long lover of Bach, piano, harpsichord and English Morris dancer, I found Yo-Yo Ma and L’il Buck playing-dancing in transcendental harmony, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9jghLeYufQ, the most moving marriage of music and dance I’ve experienced, these two artists melding into one loving instrument, tears of sorrow, wonder, joy and deep, deep gratitude.....
3
This new version of the Suite in G Prelude is so, so much happiness. There's a calmness and stability, a willingness to linger, that is more apparent than in his previous versions. Lovely.
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the opening notes of the prelude in the first suite always make me cry.
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@Jenna
Me too!
2
NYT - great article, but can you please use something besides Spotify when you use musical illustrations? It's a teaser for their subscriptions.
I am a musician who no longer bothers with much of your musical coverage because I find this so very annoying. And I have many objections to Spotify's exploitation of the artists that "provide" the content they exploit.
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On a day like today, after yesterday's SCOTUS hearings, I needed this!!
Thank you Mr. Ma for consistently reminding us - 'we can do better than this.'
34
The connection of Bach's music to community is in full display in Toronto Ontario Canada. Since 1999, and with the help of Mr. Ma, landscape artists, the City and generous sponsors, the Toronto Music Garden was designed and inspired by Bach's Suite #1 for unaccompanied cello. In fact, each movement corresponds to a different section of the Garden (see http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/venues/torontomusicgarden/ for more information).
The Garden is located at Toronto's waterfront, between Spadina and Bathurst streets. Each summer, concerts are scheduled most Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons, along with self-guided tours and other public and private events. A documentary which accompanied the design of this Garden indicated the offer was first brought to the City of Boston, but was rejected by their City Council. Toronto was more than happy to take over.
The Toronto Music Garden was also the site of my wedding sixteen years ago...
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@Larry Perlman Thank you!!!
3
Why can't we just accept great music for what it is - great music, and leave it at that. Your silly heading, "Yo-Yo Ma Wants Bach to Save the World" is given no follow-up in the rest of the article. I'm sure Mr. Ma wants Bach to increase the civility in the world, but save it? I would point out that Pablo Casals and his cello and his Bach suites did not save the world from Fascist Spain, German National Socialism or Soviet Communism and the hundred million or more lives they all took away. Sorry to be negative, but only people with their heads in the sand believe that the classic arts can save the world. They are there, they are glorious, and (unfortunately) they mean nothing to 95 percent of even the most educated people. Long may they and Mr. Ma reign, but whether or not Mr. Ma will play for Donald Trump on his deathbed is a matter of vast indifference to just about everybody, most especially to Mr. Trump.
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@Joe Pearce I concur with Mr. Pearce. The world of men, somewhat like nature herself, is increasingly indifferent to that which seemed to suggest we were in some sort of ascent toward the stars. But considering that the richness of the arts in ancient Egypt and other civilizations did nothing to prevent their eventual collapse and left merely stone postcards like that to Ozymandias, I do not believe we have improved things even since Bach's time and certainly not in the decades since Yo-Yo Ma arrived. In my youth, I lived in hope that that which nourished and enriched my soul for some betterment would do the same for the rest of humanity. Alas, it scarcely eases the horrors of the last century let alone balm the present one.
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@Joe Pearce
Hope Globally, Act Locally.
6
Thank you for providing this music. It's a needed antidote to today's headlines.
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your lovely story on bach and mr. ma makes this day much, much easier to bare. the new supreme court weighs heavy on my mind.
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Nice article. One question, though. "Last month, Mr. Ma released his third and, in all likelihood, final recording of the suites." Why "in all likelihood"? Ma is only 62. Does he have some fatal disease we haven't been told about?
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@Peter Maybe it’s an assumption on the author’s part, but it does seem reasonable that three recorded cycles of the same pieces would feel like a complete career statement. Who knows if in another decade or more Mr Ma feels like he has something new to add to the works, but if not he seems comfortable letting the cycle speak for itself. If you look back at the great conductors and soloists of the recording era, three cycles is probably a best case scenario. Oftentimes we only got two.
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@WyoDan
A few nights ago I heard the pianist Russell Sherman give a transcendent performance, in Boston's Jordan Hall, of three Beethoven Sonatas, including the final one, Opus 111. He has played these sonatas in recitals for over 70 years (he's almost 89 now). I've been following Mr. Sherman for at least 40 years, and this recital was without question his greatest performance of these works that he has so often performed over the decades. The audience was clearly dazzled, and the reception was extraordinary. As one colleague commented, "At the quiet end of the last sonata there wasn't a dry eye in the house." I look forward to even more revelatory performances by Yo-Yo Ma for decades to come, whether he records them or not (but I hope he records them).
2
Not that it’s necessarily definitive, but Mr. Ma and his record company have both said that these are his last recordings of the works.
1
I share the disinclination to believe of some of the other respondents who've written in here.
We all should salute Mr. Ma on his gesture and if only one person is positively transformed, that will mean he (Mr. Ma) will have achieved a mini-miracle. But the problems of this world require more than just good music; they require good will on all of our parts. From simply scanning the headlines of the newspapers and broadcast media, I find such good will to be self-evidently lacking. Does anyone truly believe one live cellist and one dead composer will achieve that? Not I.
Besides, Beethoven's music-particularly his large scale work-is far more likely to make a revelation and cause a transfiguration of the kind we need, not Bach's.
2
I disagree. There is Bach, and then there is everybody else. He stands alone.
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@Sisko24
Controversial no doubt, but I stand by it: without Bach we would not have Beethoven.
4
Sisko 24 never said that Beethoven's music was better than Bach's or that Beethoven could have composed without building on Bach's legacy. Sisko said only that Beethoven's larger works might be more likely to have a lasting effect on the majority of listeners. You might ask Sisko to provide some reasons. I can think of a few practical ones.
2
"The fifth suite, in the 1983 album, has the haunted beauty of an empty Venetian palazzo, with prevailing gloom shot with sudden shafts of blinding sunlight." - One of the most captivating musical comparisons I've read in a while.
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I heard him perform 2, 3 and 6 at NJPAC in 2008, but would love to hear all six live. I live in the NY metro area, but don't see him performing, except with the NYP, in the coming season. Am I missing something, or is it TBA? Any thoughts?
1
Bach was in his day highly regarded as an organist, but was felt to be somewhat behind the times as a composers. Some of his works have been purchased for coins in a garbage can at the equivalent of a garage sale. The father of 20 children by two wives only 3 lived to adulthood. It must have been horrendous to live in a time of such tragedy. All his compositions were religious compositions for the church and he stated all his compositions were for the glory of God. However he wasn't all that crazy about church services and would slip out for a beer. Well tempered tuning, the foundation of our music today is an imperfect solution.
1
@wayne griswald He composed secular music, too. The Brandenburg concertos come to mind, not to mention the cello suites cited in this story. As far as being considered behind the times, well, maybe some people thought so. I don't know. But Beethoven certainly didn't think so.
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@wayne griswald I can think of many well known compositions which were not “for the Church” and the longer I think, the more I come up with: the cello pieces Yo-yo Ma plays, the Peasant Cantata, the Coffee Cantata, the Little Note Book of Anna Madgdalena Bach, and much more. He was employed by “the Church”, so it shouldn’t be surprising that his works are predominantly religious.
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@Tony Long Beethoven's discovery of Bach occurred after his death of course and was a remarkable story.
His next stop is not on the east coast but Berkeley, CA on 9/30. I just listened to the new recording and can't wait for Sunday's concert under the stars!
11
Agreed music lover see you there !! All attendees will be in for a treat.. too bad had to use Stub Hub to obtain tickets !
1
@Dennis Davis
Rats! I'm in LA this weekend.
This will work. Bach has saved the world many times over, one heart at a time. The combination with Yo-yo Ma is unbeatable.
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@Pamela
Maybe so. But does Mr. Ma have 7,200,000,000 performances left in him to allow Bach to save the world, one heart at a time?
Yo-Yo Ma is an international treasure. And the music of Bach has been inspiring us for centuries.
Unfortunately, Bach cannot save anyone from anything. The kinds of people who have in their music collection his cello suites as recorded by Casals, Rostropovich and Ma are not the kinds who advocate for white supremacy, forcibly separate children from their parents, or look the other way at sexual assault.
We can count on Yo-Yo Ma to discover, and deliver, the sublime message just beneath the surface in the works of Bach and other great composers. But it's up to "us" to do the saving.
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That we have to share the world with haters is a bitter pill to swallow, and of course we must fight them at every turn. The music of Bach, when played by a great artist like Yo-yo Ma, is affirmation that our cause is right. It helps provide the strength we need to combat the forces of evil, even when, as is increasingly the case, they have the upper hand.
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@alexander hamilton
But Bach conveyed in his music the evil of things like white supremacy, the forceful separation of children, and the shaming of sexual assault victims...Chaconne for Partita 2 in D minor. I recommend Itzhak Perlman's rendition to anyone who wants to listen to (imo) the greatest work written for the violin
1
it's great to read something inspiring for a change, a great musician and a great man.
27
Thank you for this article.
We need Bach more than ever. In a world that has lost its compass and especially in this country that lost the sense of decency, the beauty of the Johann Sebastian Bach is a reminder of the eternal elegance of our potential as human beings.
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It's an interesting idea: that the sublimity of Beauty can elevate humanity—make us truly better persons. I wonder about this, and would love to hear more (beyond the article's moment of parenthetical speculation) about the possible efficacy of this in Yo-Yo Ma’s presentations.
2
@Rafael Life in Bach's day wasn't that great, disease was rampant. 17 of his 20 children died before adulthood. He was a product of an era where people concentrated totally on one skill and didn't make much money at things like art and music, just a living.
4
Although I am no real pianist, I recently started stumbling through one of the preludes or fugues from the Well Tempered Clavier every morning before I start my day and have found it wonderfully therapeutic. Now, no matter what craziness I have to face during the day, I still have my hour of Bach to bring me back to peace and order. I love what Mr. Ma is doing and hope he spreads his Bach gospel. If everyone started the day playing, singing, or listening to Bach I believe the world would be a better place!
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@glow worm
I also try to start my day with a prelude and fugue from the Well Tempered Clavier. I used to struggle through the awkward fingerings in my old college edition of the first book. Then I found a copy edited by Bruno Mugellini (1871-1912). I had never heard of him before. His fingerings transformed my playing of these treasured pieces. I'm relearning all the ones I had previously learned and it has turned into a labor of love for me. I hope to find a copy of Mugellini's edition of the second book.
@glow worm, I concur: an hour of WTC in the morning, and I'm ready to take on whatever the day may bring.
A famous and wonderful piano teacher, Evelyn Crochet always says that Bach is democracy. All the voices get a turn to talk and to listen to one another. Thank you Bach!
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I recently bought the new recording. Heavenly.
7
You are asked to choose your favorite composer of all times, it it Bach for this listener because there is an edge to be found in his work and has the effect of making a belief in God a possibility.
He never stopped working and would travel for miles in search of being chosen to compose a requiem, or a concert to please a king. His traveling to other countries, Italy or France, were by account fairly moderate, and his footsteps remained in Leipzig for the greater part of his life, leaving behind at his death, a large family; some of his sons with a great musical talent of their own.
Mr. YoYo Ma is recognized in this lifetime as one of the greatest cellists in the world, and it must have been an angel in the form of a New York taxi driver who returned to him, his musical instrument, forgotten in transit on his way to perform a concert.
Thank you, Sir, for making some of us in this mysterious existence of ours, feel alive and that Paradise has not been lost.
30
I hate to nit pick, but when it comes to a Seinfeld reference well, I have to correct the author. Kramer says Yo Yo Ma in reaction to seeing George's girlfriend topless at a pool in the Hamptons. (Jerry: Jane's topless. (They all look) Kramer: Yo yo ma. Jerry: Boutros Boutros-Ghali.) The authors used these two names because of their "Double" entendre. That said, Yo Yo Ma's music is indeed breathtaking as well.
8
LONG LIVE BACH AND YO-YO MA !
13
I'm all in with Yo-Yo Ma's politics, but spending about a half-hour in a community center is not "fully there." The intent is admirable but superstars flitting around the world is not a recipe for changing it.
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@Dave Harmon
This story will be read by millions, and perhaps as a result, Bach’s beloved Cello Suites performed by a most human global interpreter, will be heard and felt by many more.
Let’s give Suites a chance.
6
Bach’s cello and violin sonatas have gotten me through the most difficult parts of my life thus far.
18
An early touchstone of my life was the experience of performing in Bach's Mass in B Minor, nearly four hours to a journey to the heights of human emotion.
When we finished the concert, I thought to myself: I am ok to die now--I have done everything important in life.
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@Douglas McNeill
I felt that way at the age of ten when first I heard "The Ghost Riders in the Sky", and Bach didn't even write that one!
1
@Joe Pearce
I, too, heard "Ghost Riders in the Sky" (Vaughan Monroe, yes?), but at a more literarily sophisticated age---and thought the title was "Ghost Writers in the Sky".
After yesterday's hearings in the Senate, which left me in despair, this article restores some hope and sensibility in me.
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@Quentin Yes.
I would say "Yo-Yo Ma for the Supreme Court", but I wouldn't want to take time away from his playing. We need a full dose of his kind of spirit right now. Heavenly, heavenly music.
3
@Max Dither
Hey, if we could add Evelyn Glennie on percussion, Lang Lang on toy piano, and maybe Hillary Clinton on piccolo, all led my Mr. Ma on comb-and-Kleenex, we could have the successor group to The Nairobi Trio - The Quixotic Quartet - it would go a long way towards improving the musical culture at the White House, and not only in the current administration.