Yo-Yo Ma live stream now ...
-
@mark said in Yo-Yo Ma live stream now ...:
Does he play a Stradivarius? It looks very old. Sounds sublime.
"Ma's primary performance instrument is the cello nicknamed "Petunia", built by Domenico Montagnana in 1733, and valued at US$2.5 million. It was named Petunia by a student who approached him after one of his classes in Salt Lake City asking if he had a nickname for his cello. He said, "No, but if I play for you, will you name it?" She chose Petunia and it stuck. Yo-Yo Ma accidentally left this cello in a taxicab in New York City in 1999, but it was quickly returned undamaged. That same year, when Petunia's neck was damaged during X-ray baggage inspection, he borrowed the Pawle Stradivarius cello from the Chimei Museum for a concert in Taiwan. The damage was repaired in time, but Ma played both Petunia and Pawle during the concert nonetheless.
Another of Ma's cellos, the Davidov Stradivarius, was previously owned by Jacqueline du Pré, who passed it to him upon her death. Though du Pré previously voiced her frustration with the "unpredictability" of this cello, Yo-Yo Ma attributed the comment to du Pré's impassioned style of playing, adding that the Stradivarius cello must be "coaxed" by the player. It was until recently set up in a Baroque manner, since Ma exclusively played Baroque music on it.
He also owns a modern cello made by Peter and Wendela Moes of Peißenberg, Germany, and one of carbon fiber by the Luis and Clark company of Boston.
