Yo Yo Ma, the man

Yo Yo Ma, the man

Posted on January 18th, 2009 by Christopher Guerin

I met Yo Yo Ma when he was about to go under the knife. This was in the early 80’s and he was performing the Lalo cello concerto with the Colorado Springs Symphony. There had been some bad blood between his management and the conductor when Yo Yo switched to the Lalo from what had originally been programmed. It seems he didn’t want to learn the other work, which he knew, but not well, because he was afraid he’d never play it again.

This was his last performance before having spinal surgery and spending six months in a body cast. I remember him talking about it. He was scared to death. The doctors had told him that there was a chance, albeit slim, that he’d never play the cello again. And, he worried that he’d never been even a few days without practicing. What would a 6-month hiatus do to his skills?

As the manager of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic five years later, I booked Yo Yo Ma for a recital and looked forward to picking him up at the airport. He came off the plane looking relaxed and fit, holding his cello case. He smiled and shook hands and the first thing I asked him was, “How did the surgery go?” This now being ancient history for him — the intervening years having been a storybook rise to stardom, with everything from Carnegie recitals to the Johnny Carson Show — he didn’t immediately understand what I meant. I reminded him of his fear of being in a cast for so long. He said, “Oh, yes, it was okay. I realized at one point that it didn’t matter if I never played again, that I’d be just fine.” He paused and added, “Playing is not the most important thing.”

He didn’t play like it wasn’t important, of course, and that’s why he’s the great, great artist that he is. He gave the audience everything he had, and, even on a thorny piece by Leon Kirchner, he left nothing in the case. No tepid applause for him.

“Playing is not the most important thing.” So, did he live up to that realization? He’s now in his 50’s. In 2005, Smithsonian magazine included Yo Yo Ma in an issue featuring “35 who made a difference.” The title of the article was: “Yo Yo Ma: Humanitarian, globe-trotting teacher, good sport, ice-dancing fan, and heckuva nice guy. Oh, and he plays the cello.” Yes, he did.

For tepid applause, see “A Perlman before swine“

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Christopher Guerin

Christopher Guerin is the author of two books each of poetry and short fiction, a novel, and more than a dozen children’s books. If he hadn’t spent 26 years as an arts administrator, including 20 years as President of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, perhaps he’d have worked a little harder getting them published. His consolation resides in his fiction and poems having been published in numerous small magazines, including Rosebud, AURA, Williams and Mary Review, Midwest Quarterly, Wittenberg Review, RE: Artes Liberales, DEROS, Wind, and Wind less Orchard. His blog, Zealotry of Guerin, features his fiction and poetry, including his sonnet sequence of poems after paintings, “Brushwork." He is the V.P. of Corporate Communications at Sweetwater Sound, Inc., the national music instrument retailer.