Track Listing

1. Appalachia Waltz [Solo Cello Version]
2. Seven Tunes Heard in China: I. Seasons
3. Seven Tunes Heard in China: II. Guessing Song
4. Seven Tunes Heard in China: III. Little Cabbage
5. Seven Tunes Heard in China: IV. The Drunken Fisherman
6. Seven Tunes Heard in China: V. Diu Diu Dong
7. Seven Tunes Heard in China: VI. Pastoral Ballade
8. Seven Tunes Heard in China: VII. Tibetan Dance
9. Cellist of Sarajevo
10. Suite for Solo Cello: I. Quasi Cadenza
11. Suite for Solo Cello: II. Quarter Note = 96
12. Suite for Solo Cello: III. Eighth Note = 42
13. Suite for Solo Cello: IV. Vivace
14. Sonata for Solo Cello, Op. 8: I. Allegro Maestoso Ma Appasionato
15. Sonata for Solo Cello, Op. 8: II. Adagio
16. Sonata for Solo Cello, Op. 8: III. Allegro Molto Vivace

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #183598 in Music
• Released on: 1999-09-21
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Enhanced, Super Audio CD

Amazon.com
Born in Paris of Chinese parents, educated and anchored in America, performing on every continent, Yo-Yo Ma is a true citizen of the world by heritage, disposition, and choice. Dauntlessly adventurous, he has explored musical styles from baroque and classical to bluegrass, jazz, and electronic; now he has embarked on a study of the cultural traditions of the peoples along the historic Silk Road that brought Asia and Europe together. This disc is the first step on that journey of discovery; it is fascinating, and Ma is the perfect guide. Sheng's Seven Chinese Tunes are beautiful and each has its own character; the cello is tuned down for sonority. Wilde's lamentatious The Cellist of Sarajevo honors the cellist who played in that city's streets every day to commemorate the dead. Tcherepnin's rhapsodic Suite in three contrasting movements has a distinctly Chinese flavor. O'Connor's Appalachia Waltz was originally written for three instruments; with double stops and drones, it sounds perfectly self-sufficient. Indeed, Ma's playing throughout is stunning: it often seems impossible that one man and one instrument can create such a wealth of sounds. His tone is invariably pure and beautiful, sonorous as an organ on the low strings, radiant on top; he negotiates the most hair-raising pyrotechnics with apparent ease, his palette of colors is unlimited, and he is at home in every style and idiom. He even gives the fiendishly difficult Kodály sonata--with its incredible sound effects and fireworks--musical and emotional expression, making it sing, speak, shout, whisper, dance, and cry. --Edith Eisler

Customer Reviews

The Kodaly is Brilliant
Ever since I heard the Kodaly live I have profound respect for anyone who tries to tackle this technical giant of a work. Ma's recording has surpassed any other performance of this work in my opinion.

New vistas in music
I am sure that much of the music on this offering will not be to every one's taste. There are moments of great beauty, moments of grating sounds that were never meant to please but to conjure up images. Still in all, who can not marvel at the miracle of what this artist can do as an unaccompanied player? Ms. Eisler's comments above leave little left to say. To extend her metaphor, not only is this recital one step on a journey to consider the music of other cultures, but perhaps one towards an appreciation of what music can do beyond that which is afforded by the standard repertory. Again not to every one's taste but highly recommended for many.

brilliant modern cello
a caveat-- i bought this album two days before the destruction of the wtc. i keep going back to it as waves of grief roll through me in the aftermath.
that being said, this is a stark, remarkably beautiful album. mr. ma is sometimes maligned for being overly romantic in his approach to the modern cello, but i would argue that, as this album attests, it is not romanticism, ie., emotion for the sake of emotion ungrounded in reality, but rather finding the raw emotion within the expression of the music. case in point-- "the cellist of sarajevo." this one piece captures the tragic story it represents--a single cellist returning to the spot of a massacre at the exact time each day to memorialize the event. mr.ma at once captures the grief, but also the muted hope and apsiration of the human spirit wrestling with the existential reality of death. the rest of the album is similarly powerful, taking us through some possibly unfamiliar composers. the two sonatas are moving, dark, but gorgeous. the chinese folk songs remind us of mr. ma's heritage, and the reprise of "appalachian waltz" as a solo piece remind us of our own heritage as americans. together they form a portrait of not only mr. ma, but also of each us as persons of history, creativity, and love. thank you, yo yo ma.