There's a part of me that's always charging ahead. I'm the curious kid, always going to the edge. Yo-Yo Ma aheadchargecurious Change image and share on social
My involvement in the political arena is to make sure there's a place for culture. Yo-Yo Ma arenacultureinvolvement Change image and share on social
My teacher, my great cello teacher Leonard Rose, was such a great cellist, and nurturing man, very patient. But I grew up not only admiring him, but obviously Casals, Rostrotovich, Jacqueline du Pre, and many others, including many of my peers and contemporaries. Yo-Yo Ma admirecasalcellist share on social
Music has always been transnational; people pick up whatever interests them, and certainly a lot of classical music has absorbed influences from all over the world. Yo-Yo Ma absorbclassicalinfluence Change image and share on social
One of the most interesting aspects of the film project was collaborating with so many people - directors, filmmakers, and writers - over a five-year period. I learned that there are two components to this. Yo-Yo Ma aspectcollaboratecomponent share on social
The tradition of classical music and the opera is such that it used to be the place where social intercourse could take place between all parts of society: politicians, industrialists, artists, citizens, etc. That tradition, I think, still exists, but it's much, much more diluted. Yo-Yo Ma artistcitizenclassical share on social
My job as a performer is to make sure that whatever happens in a performance lives in somebody else, that it's memorable... If you forget tomorrow what you heard yesterday, there's really not much point in you having been there - or me, for that matter. Yo-Yo Ma forgethearjob share on social
Many of the Central Asians know Russian, and Ted Levin speaks it fluently. I speak Chinese, but Mongolian is completely different, so we had to have translators. Yo-Yo Ma asiancentralchinese Change image and share on social
With every year of playing, you want to relax one more muscle. Why? Because the more tense you are, the less you can hear. Yo-Yo Ma hearmuscleplay Change image and share on social
