Customer Reviews

Artist's Choice - Yo-Yo Ma - Music That Matters to Him

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I bought this CD several years ago and am now buying my second copy. I 'lent' it to a friend who loved it so much that I let her keep it. If you love Yo Yo Ma and love that haunting chello music, you will adore this CD. It is such a smart collection of music that flows and moves the listener. I will probably end up buying a third copy in the future!

Have you ever wondered what music shaped a great musician of today? Well, here, Yo-Yo reveals, through pieces that have meant a lot to him, some of the shaping events of his life, including performances that struck him as significant. Surprising to some (though not to me), was that he includes music outside of classical as inspirational for him. It is worth noting some of his suggestions for great performers and recordings that hold a rich history and meaning: For example, the Casals, Brubeck, and Gould. In my case, Gould's Goldberg was an awakening. One has to be made of stone to not hear why this 1955 recording turned the entire musical world upside down - nobody else had been able to make so many voices so beautifully clear and distinct, with their own personalities, as Gould. For more, have a listen to "Sense of Wonder", which contains both 1955 and 1981 recordings of the Goldberg, and Gould's radio interview comparing them - an incredible inside view of performances from one of history's greatest pianists. Rose's sound is truly as rich and golden as any in the history of the cello - he had a profound impact on the cello-playing of today. If you don't know of Bobby McFerrin - have a hear of "Rush", Yo-Yo's fun-filled jazz voice/cello album. O'Conner and Meyer are geniuses in their "countrified" renditions of crossover classical music. Keep an open mind, and you will be rewarded by this wonderful set of recordings, and be directed to types of music you may not have considered before.

My mistake, I thought it was Yo Yo Ma's choices in the music that he played....not by others. Did not like the CD at all.