March 03--Yo-Yo Ma has long been one of the most recognizable classical musicians on the planet and, like Riccardo Muti, one of today's most committed spokesmen for the essential role of culture in society. Now that the superstar cellist and Chicago Symphony Orchestra creative consultant is nearing 60, he might be excused for wanting to step back a bit and pass the heavy lifting along to others.
But no: With energies unabated, Ma remains on a constant quest to, as he puts it, "better interpret the world," through performances and creative collaborations with like-minded friends, colleagues and arts and educational institutions -- partnerships that leap across national boundaries.
For the last 15 years, his principal means of doing that has been his groundbreaking Silk Road Ensemble, an international nonprofit music collective dedicated to cross-cultural ambassadorship. Through its performances and more than 70 commissions, the group and its parent Silk Road Project are fusing different musical traditions to create a new kind of music for the 21st century, a synthesis whose larger purpose is, in his words, to "help us understand each other in our global society."
If that sounds high-falutin', the music that Ma and his Silk Roaders put out there can be anything but. Whether it's via the piercing wails of Cristina Pato on the gaita (Iberian bagpipe) or a Near Eastern hoedown involving Kojiro Umezaki's spectacular shakuhachi (Japanese wooden flute) playing, their concerts of cross-cultural exchange often resemble global block parties more than concerts, packed with the exhilaration of discovery.
Such is likely to be the case Friday night when Ma and his Silk Road group return to Symphony Center as part of their 15th anniversary U.S. tour. Their program will hold works inspired by musical traditions as diverse as Sicilian, Persian and Syrian, including the world premiere of a double concerto arrangement of Chinese composer Zhao Lin's "Paramita."
In a recent phone interview, Ma took time out from a Silk Road rehearsal with the New York Philharmonic to explain how he's managed to keep things fresh and new over the life of his ensemble.
"The nice thing is there's no lack of content," he said. "Really, the world is the content. Our mixing and matching of repertory and players helps us better interpret the world. We change, the environment changes. How do we react to it? That's an interesting question we've been asking ourselves the last couple of years."
So, Silk Road is developing broader cultural explorations to be shared with audiences?
"Well, music is culture and what we want to do in the area of culture is to develop different frames of thinking outside political or economic frames. How, for example, is a great arts institution like the Chicago Symphony Orchestra using all its cultural assets? Asking such questions might help us determine music's value in a world that's becoming faster and more complex and in which everybody has limited resources."
Finding common ground through the sharing of music always has been paramount with the ensemble, but Ma said the many close working friendships he and his colleagues have developed over the years has added a crucial dimension to Silk Road. The ensemble now has musicians from more than 20 countries, with a stable of regulars at its core.
"The biggest takeaway is that we all feel more human, as a member of the planet, knowing people from different worlds who may be our neighbors or who may live far away," the cellist said. "The feedback we get from different audiences around the world has made all of us think more deeply about what we do. By opening wider, we've been able to go deeper.
"I think what we do now, we do with more care, love and meaning; we feel more connected. Anywhere you drop me in the world, I feel I can deal with whatever situation comes along -- I didn't use to feel that way. As awful as some places can be, the world is not frightening."
Bottom line: Whether Ma is playing with Silk Road, performing at the White House or treating passersby to some impromptu Bach at the entrance to Chicago's Millennium Park train station, his mission to promote better understanding across the global village will go on, he said.
"My great goal is for all cultural institutions to work together to be part of the solution for most of the intractable problems in our society. How do we act together to create greater good for everyone? That's the question."
The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma will perform at 8 p.m. Friday at Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave.; $45-$135; 312-294-3000, cso.org.
Gil Shaham plays Bach
For his latest major project, Gil Shaham has taken on the Sonatas and Partitas for Unaccompanied Violin by J.S. Bach. This month the Illinois-born virtuoso will release an integral recording of these formidable Baroque masterpieces on his Canary Classics CD label. The violinist is undertaking a series of all-Bach recitals this month and next in Illinois and California, and his performance of the entire Bach cycle Sunday afternoon at Symphony Center marked the launch of his album tour.
This was Bach dressed in multimedia garb. Each section of the six sonatas and partitas was accompanied by a different mini-video created by New York visual artist David Michalek. Yo-Yo Ma tried something similar nearly two decades ago with a film series using Bach's solo cello suites as the basis of a collaboration with the visions of various collaborators from other arts disciplines. The Shaham-Michalek reimagining of Bach's music was less lavish although the visual overlay proved equally problematic.
The problem, simply stated, was that the video distracted from Shaham's sleek and satisfying performances. And the banality of the deliberately slowed-down images, which were projected onto a large screen behind the violinist, made the nearly three-hour duration feel tedious.
Part of the idea no doubt was to counterpoint the somnolent unfolding of the projections with the breathless speeds Shaham brought to Bach's fast movements. Images of birth, dying and death suggested a "seven ages of man" concept, but other slo-mo clips -- including male and female nudes and a young woman pouring a pitcher of water over her head -- seemed to come out of nowhere.
By the time Shaham got to the famous Chaconne (from Partita No. 2 in D minor), which he resolutely dispatched to the visual distraction of a kimono-clad woman with a pair of Japanese fans, this listener had had enough. At least the recording will be video-free.
Sharps and flats
A public celebration of the life of the late Chicago broadcaster and journalist Andrew Patner will be held at 7 p.m. March 18 in Orchestra Hall of Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan Ave. The event is free, with general admission seating on a first-come basis. Performers will include members of the Chicago Symphony and Lyric Opera orchestras and jazz pianists Willie and Bethany Pickens. Further information can be found at cso.org/patner or by calling 312-294-3000.
Mezzo-soprano J'nai Bridges, a third-year member of Lyric Opera's Ryan Opera Center, will be one of three U.S. finalists taking part in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition June 14-21 in Wales. She is the fifth singer from the Ryan Center to advance to the finals of the prestigious international competition.
The PianoForte Foundation will present composer Ethan Wickman and the Avalon String Quartet as part of its new Composer-in-the-Loft series, at 7 p.m. Saturday in the PianoForte Studios, 1335 S. Michigan Ave. Wickman's string quartet, "Namaste," will share the program with Tchaikovsky's String Quartet No. 1. Tickets are $20, $10 for students; 312-291-0291, pianofortefoundation.org.
James Conlon will depart the Cincinnati May Festival as music director after the 2016 season, which will mark his 37th year in the post. Also, Mei-Ann Chen will step down as music director of the financially troubled Memphis Symphony Orchestra when her contract expires at the end of the 2015-16 season. She will continue as music director of the Chicago Sinfonietta.
jvonrhein@tribpub.com
