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| Yo-Yo Ma's is performing Bach's "Six Cello Suites for Solo Cello" in 36 locations on six continents over two years. He is set to perform in Seoul on Sept. 8. Courtesy of Jason Bell |
Yo-Yo Ma, one of the most celebrated cellists of the century, is halfway through a two-year project to perform Bach's "Six Cello Suites for Solo Cello" in 36 locations on six continents.
Dubbed "The Bach Project," the renowned cellist aims to build bridges for peace among various communities around the world through the special power of music.
The project was also conceived to mark the 63-year-old's third recording release of Bach's cello suites last summer. He had previously recorded the same masterpieces by Bach at the ages of 28 and 43.
Since the project's first concert in August last year, in Denver in the U.S., Ma has performed in 18 places, as of Wednesday. On Sept. 8, he is set to perform in Seoul. It will be the first time the cello virtuoso has played one of the greatest masterpieces of classical music ― Bach's Six Cello Suites ― at a concert in Korea.
In a recent email interview with The Korea Times, Ma said he enjoys meeting people from all walks of life through the project, who share his firm belief about music's influence on building peace by strengthening the common humanity inside all of them.
"By the time I perform in Seoul on Sept. 8, the Bach Project will have visited 19 communities on four continents," Ma said. "And everywhere I have been ― from Athens, Greece, to the U.S.-Mexico border, to Mumbai, India ― I have met people who believe, as I do, that culture can help us to imagine and build a better future; musicians and coders, activists and civil servants, chefs and astronomers who are working for a better world."
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| In his decades-long music career, Yo-Yo Ma has been engaged in various initiatives, such as the Silk Road Ensemble Project, promoting collaboration and cultural exchanges beyond national borders. Courtesy of Jason Bell |
In his decades-long career, Ma has demonstrated his faith in music's integrating power. As he was convinced of art's role in promoting mutual understanding on an international level, he has initiated many inter-cultural projects, such as the Silk Road Ensemble Project, aiming to deepen collaboration among artists and encourage cultural exchanges beyond national borders. The Bach project is also one of the corollaries of his value system that the power of beauty and art can save the world.
"Culture connects us ― by culture I mean everything that helps us to understand our environment, ourselves, and one another, from music to science to literature," Ma said. "We live in fractured times, and culture can help us to heal those fractures; it helps us to understand each other, no matter where we come from, to connect, and to imagine and build a better future together."
"For a long time, I thought that we needed to work to get culture a seat at the table alongside economics and politics. But now I realize that culture is the table, the table where we make our best economic and political decisions. We must work to make that table as large, strong, and inclusive as possible."
With the Bach project, the famed cellist hopes Bach's timeless music continues to touch the hearts of people, tearing down the walls dividing them and allowing people to come together.
"I hope that, in a sense, the project doesn't end, that the mission and vision behind it continues, in my hands and heart and in the hands and hearts of many, many others," Ma said. "I want to continue to share the belief that society is strongest when culture is strongest, because we thrive when we build bridges, when we connect, when we trust and create ― and that's what culture helps us do."
His 150-minute concert, without an intermission, will be held on an outdoor stage at Seoul Olympic Park at 6 p.m. on Sept. 8. Following his Seoul concert, Ma will continue the project in Sydney on Nov. 4, Melbourne on Nov. 8, and Christchurch, New Zealand, on Nov. 12.
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| A poster for Yo-Yo Ma's "The Bach Project" performance on Sept. 8 at Seoul Olympic Park. Courtesy of CREDIA |
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