Shanghai Daily News

The many-faceted career of cellist Yo-Yo Ma is testament to his continual search for new ways to communicate with audiences and to his personal desire for artistic growth and renewal. And tomorrow night Ma will once again reach out to a Shanghai audience on his cello.

Ma was born to Chinese parents who were living in Paris. He began to study the cello with his father at the age of four and moved with his family to New York where he spent most of his formative years. His principal teacher was Leonard Rose at the Juilliard School in New York. He embarked on a traditional liberal arts education on top of his conservatory training, graduating from Harvard University in 1976. Ma and his wife have two children.

Ma is an exclusive Sony Classical artist, and his discography of over 50 albums -- which have won him 15 Grammy Awards -- reflects his wide-ranging interests.

Last February, Ma was awarded his 15th Grammy for the best-selling 2003 release ``Obrigado Brazil.'' The success of ``Obrigado Brazil'' resulted in a sequel: ``Yo-Yo Ma Obrigado Brazil Live in Concert'' recorded at a Carnegie Hall concert.

The cellist was rejoined at the concert by many of the same musicians on the first recording but they were playing largely a new repertoire they took on their acclaimed international tour that followed the release of ``Obrigado Brazil.''

Ma maintains a balance between his engagements as soloist with orchestras around the world and his recital and chamber music performances. He draws inspiration from a wide circle of collaborators, creating programs with such artists as Emanuel Ax, Daniel Barenboim, Christoph Eschenbach, Pamela Frank, Jeffrey Kahane, Kayhan Kalhor, Ton Koopman, Jaime Laredo, Bobby McFerrin, Edgar Meyer, Mark Morris, Mark O'Connor and the late Isaac Stern. Others include Kathryn Stott, Wu Man, Wu Tong and David Zinman. Each of these collaborations is fueled by the artists interacting with one another, often extending the boundaries of a particular genre.

One of Ma's goals is the exploration of music as a means of communication and as a vehicle for the migration of ideas across a range of world cultures.To that end, he has taken time to immerse himself in subjects as diverse as traditional Chinese music with its distinctive instruments and the music of the Kalahari bush people in Africa. Ma is strongly committed to educational programs that not only bring young audiences into contact with music but also allow them to participate in its creation. While touring, he takes time whenever possible to conduct master classes as well as more informal programs for student musicians and non-musicians alike.

``Ma may not be the best cellist in the world but he has opened for young Chinese audiences a window on the refined art of chamber music,'' says Professor Zong Bai from Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. ``I hope he will bring more chamber musicians to China in the future since the stage of classical music here has been dominated by symphonic works for too long.''

For his Shanghai concert Ma will be playing Schubert's ``Sonato in A Minor for Arpeggione and Piano,'' Shostakovich's ``Sonata in D Minor,'' Piazzolla's ``Le Grand Tango,'' Gismonti's ``Bodas de Prata & Quatro Canto'' and Franck's ``Sonata in A Major.''

Date: October 30, 7:15pm

Venue: Shanghai Grand Theater, 300 People's Ave

Tickets: 150-1,000 yuan

Tel: 6272-0455, 6272-0702