Yo-Yo Ma celebrates turning 60 with a new album

Provided To China Daily

Stott and Ma have toured and recorded together since 1985, including playing for Ma's albums Soul of the Tango and Obrigado Brazil, which won Grammy Awards in 1999 and 2004 respectively.

"We continue to inspire each other because we have space in our musical lives to do other things. We also live in very different countries, UK and USA, and lead quite different lives. All those aspects contribute to keeping our musical life fresh," she says.

"What I've always found with Yo-Yo is that he can endlessly re-create music - the story he wants to share-and that is something quite unique."

For Ma, who has released over 90 albums and has received 18 Grammy Awards, his latest album is also a gift to himself on turning 60 on Wednesday.

Born in Paris to Chinese parents, who were also musicians, Ma values his ancestry. In Chinese tradition, the age of 60 is considered a milestone in one's life.

"I think that's actually really interesting because it makes me think what my 60s would be like, but also what's happened before," Ma says.

Ma's life until now has been a continuous search for cultural links to music. From American bluegrass, the tangos of Argentina to soundtracks of movies such as Memoirs of a Geisha and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, he has done it all. Ma has also worked with artists from several fields, including Kabuki (traditional Japanese dance drama) and modern dance.

One of his most well-known initiatives is called the Silk Road Project that he founded in 1998, with the aim of bringing musicians from different countries along the ancient trade routes together for different musical programs.

Ma attributes his interests in exploring cultures to his parents and his past experiences.

As a child prodigy, Ma learned the cello at age 4, before moving to New York when he was a year older. Trained at Juilliard School and Harvard, Ma also had interests in politics and philosophy.

"The knowledge and experiences allowed me to look at the world in new ways," he says.

Ma wrote on his Facebook page on 9/11: "I have played Bach at weddings and at memorial services, and I've often wondered how it could be appropriate at both. How could joy and sorrow fit so well together? It's because music has the capacity to be infinitely empathetic to the human condition."

Contact the writer at chennan@chinadaily.com.cn