Yo-Yo Ma BIOGRAPHY

Yo-Yo Ma gave his first public recital at age 5 and by the time he was 19 was being compared with such masters as Rostropovich and Casals. One of the most sought-after cellists of our time, Mr. Ma has appeared with eminent conductors and orchestras in all the music capitals of the world. He has also earned a distinguished international reputation as an ambassador for classical music and its vital role in society.

Highly acclaimed for his ensemble playing, Mr. Ma regularly performs chamber music with a wide circle of colleagues. Over the past several seasons, he has joined Emanuel Ax, Isaac Stem and Jaime Laredo for performances and recordings of the piano quartet repertoire, including works of Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorak, Faur é, Mozart and Schumann. Mr. Ma's long-standing partnership with Emanuel Ax is one of the music world's most successful collaborations. Together they regularly perform duo recitals and made many recordings, including the complete cello sonatas of Beethoven and Brahms as well as works of Britten, Chopin, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff and Strauss, among others. During the season, they celebrated the 20th anniversary of their partnership with a recital tour culminating at Carnegie Hall as well as a special concert at Alice Tully Hall for PBS's "Live from Lincoln Center."

M r. Ma recently completed a collaborative project of a different kind, creating films of Bach's Six Cello Suites that explore the relationship between Bach's music and other artistic disciplines. The first of these, featuring original choreography of Mark Morris set to the Third Cello Suite, was premiered at the Edinburgh Festival in August Subsequent films are to incorporate the work of the renowned Kabuki artist Tamasaburo Bando, the Italian architect Piranesi, Boston-based garden designer Julie Moir Messervy, Olympic ice- dancing champions Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean, and Canadian film director Atom Egoyan.

Gesar;" a disc of recent concertos by Kirchner, Rouse and Danielpour with David Zinman and the Philadelphia Orchestra; and a new work by Andre Previn, set to words by Toni Morrison, with soprano Sylvia McNair and Mr. Previn as pianist. This fall Sony Classical released "Appalachia Waltz," an album of original music recorded in Nashville with fiddle player Mark O'Connor and bassist Edgar Meyer. A n exclusive Sony Classical recording artist, Yo-Yo Ma is a ten-time Grammy award winner. Among his recent releases are Peter Lieberson's chamber work "King

C ontemporary music, particularly by American composers, has for many years been an important part of Mr. Ma's repertoire. Over the past several seasons, he has premiered works by Stephen Albert, William Bolcom, John Corigliano, Richard Danielpour, David Diamond, John Harbison, Lou Harrison, Leon Kirchner, Ezra Laderman, Peter Lieberson, Tod Machover, Christopher Rouse, Bright Sheng and John Williams.

A very recent premiere of comtemporary music was Heaven, Earth, Mankind: Symphony 1997, elebrating the return of Hong Kong to Chinese Rule. Mr. Ma developed a very close relationship with composer Tan Dun and has recently given performances of the symphony around the world. Alongside his extensive performing and recording, Yo-Yo Ma devotes time to work with young musicians in programs such as hose at Interlochen and Tanglewood. He seeks to include educational outreach activities in his regular touring schedule as well, through master classes and more informal interaction with student audiences.He is also working to develop concerts for family udiences and appeared with Emanuel Ax on Camegie Hall's family series in

Bom in Paris in 1955 of Chinese parents, Yo-Yo Ma began his cello studies with his father at age 4. Later, he studied with Janos Scholz and in 1962 he began his studies with Leonard Rose at The Juilliard School. A graduate of Harvard University, he was accorded the special distinction of an honorary doctorate in music in 1991 by his alma mater. He was also the recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize in Mr. Ma and his wife, Jill, have two children, Nicholas and Emily. He currently plays a Montagnana cello from Venice made in 1733 and a Davidoff Stradivarius made in 1712.