Starting at the age of four to play the cello, Ma has become a phenomenon in the field of music. It is difficult to imagine what cello music would be without Ma's unique interpretations. Years ago, the people of New York City almost found out after Ma left his beloved instrument in a taxi as he hurried to a concert performance. To many, Ma not only lost his cello, but also part of himself.

In his mid-40s, Ma has all the graces of a successful, middle-aged man: humor, intelligence, tact and a gentle smile. To some extent, he is like a clever diplomat, who is able to blunt the sharpest question and has his own gentle way of saying no.

Beneath Ma's calm expression is a spirit that thrives on exploring new areas of music.

A student of Leonard Rose at the Juilliard School, he later enrolled in the Anthropology Department at Harvard University. After graduation from Harvard, he made his initial impact performing J.S. Bach's Suites for Unaccompanied Cello. Later, he returned to Bach's work alongside artists from a variety of disciplines, reinterpreting each suite for a series of films. He also recorded albums such as Hush (with vocalist Bobby McFerrin) and 1996's Appalachia Waltz, an album of original Nashville music.

Ma is the artistic director of the Silk Road Project, which, according to Ma, was founded in 1998 to study the ebb and flow of ideas among different cultures along the Silk Road.

The program includes Zhao Jiping's "Moon over Guan Mountains," played by sheng, pipa, cello and tabla; Franghis Ali-Zadeh's "Habil Sayagy," played by the cello and the piano; Zhu Jian'er's "Silk Road Reverie," to the instruments of sheng, bawu, guanzi, pipa, erhu and percussion; and Zoltan's Kodaly's "Sonata for Solo Cello."

Ma's plan is to follow Marco Polo musically. Seven hundred years ago, Polo traveled the land with a Western perspective - Ma intends to do it with a global vision. "Merging and heritage" are words frequently on the tip of his tongue. He becomes animated at the idea of global cultural merging, through which he intends to develop his own style.

"Style comes into existence just because someone has created it," he said.

The style Ma seems to be aiming for may come from his appreciation of musical roots, which he has pursued in "Appalachian Journey" with Mark O'Connor and Edgar Meyer, and the "Silk Road Project."

Ma has his own roots in the Shanghai area - his mother came from Zhejiang Province and once lived in the city.

This is Ma's second visit to Shanghai. "The city has changed greatly," he said. "It seems different every single day."

But Yo-Yo Ma never seems to change. With his cello, he is the pride of the East who has enchanted the Western world with their own music.

(Shanghai Star 03/08/2001)