The Essential Yo-Yo Ma Here are three dozen pieces of music, all played by Yo-Yo Ma, culled from his extensive discography. Aside from the technical mastery and beautiful tone that are absolutes in all of his playing, one is dazzled by his curiosity and ability to adapt to so many forms and types of music. His Bach and Vivaldi are pellucid and played with non-sentimental crispness, his tango music gritty and rhythmically pungent, his jazz seemingly spontaneous, the “Meditation” from Thais simply ravishing, “Anything Goes” a romp, and the Appalachian music performed with both respect and a great twang, while the traditional Chinese music is fascinating. It’s really a matter of how much Ma loves whatever he plays here, how entirely he becomes involved in it, and what a fine partner he invariably is to other musicians. This collection is a doozy–it is truly “essential.” –Robert Levine
Customer Review: Great Collection!
Between these two disks, the listener experiences the expansive swath of this virtuoso’s briliant repetoire. I bought the disk primarily for Bach’s Prelude from Cello Suite No 1 in G Major, but I also loved the other Bach selections and the hauntingly beautiful rendition of “Simple Gifts”. I have heard other performances by Yo-Yo Ma of this Cello suite selection, but I found this version to be the most stylistically appealing–at least by my humble tastes. I usually avoid compilation cds (”best of” is usually a turn off), but this is a definite thumbs-up. At the very least, it will point the way to other selections to pursue in greater depth. It really is a great musical find!

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