Yo Yo Ma

More close encounters with John Williams away from the silver screen. This time his focus is the cello – not just the cello‚ mind‚ but the cellist:Yo¬Yo Ma. To say thatMa greatly raises Williams’ game may sound like a rather backhanded compliment‚ but it’s hardly intended as such. The fact of the matter is that composers work on inspiration and when the inspiration comes in human form it generally takes on a more human dimension. The Cello ConcertoÊ– the biggest and most significant work of this collection – was written expressly for Ma.

The outstanding program spotlights cellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianist Kathryn Stott plus classical guitarists Sergio and Odair Assad, all of whom played on both Soul of the Tango and Obrigado Brazil. They are joined by percussionist Joseph Gramley, who appeared on Ma's gold-certified Songs of Joy & Peace album.

Claude Bolling and Yo-Yo Ma are a combination made in heaven on Bolling's "Suite for Cello & Jazz Piano Trio." Once again marvelously mixing together many of the basic ingredients of classical and jazz, Bolling serves up a deliciously rich stew of musical influences that manages always to sound fresh, never derivative.

Yo-Yo Ma is considered the world's greatest living cello player, a professional musician since the age of 5 whose celebrity transcends the world of classical music.

On the 'Sony Classical' label - In this world premiere recording, one of the greatest cellists of our time, Yo-Yo Ma performs the first ever Cello Concerto by internationally renowned composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. Yo-Yo Ma performs this stunning concerto alongside the world’s most contemporary minded orchestras, the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the baton of Esa-Pekka Salonen. Salonen has dedicated this work to Yo-Yo Ma. The Cello Concerto made its debut in Chicago, where it was performed by Yo-Yo Ma and conducted by Salonen. The concerto was lauded by critics who praised the collaboration between Yo-Yo Ma and Salonen. The Cello Concerto will be performed in London at the Royal Festival Hall on 24th February 2019.