Bach at the Border
by tristero
A long time ago, I had the great privilege of producing Yo-Yo Ma’s first recording of the Bach Cello Suites. Musically, technically, and most of all personally, it was an unforgettably profound experience, a high point in my life. Yo-Yo was clearly a brilliant musician and a warm, humorous, and utterly charming person. Every once in a while I still run into him and marvel at his extraordinary ability to be both humble and confident, serious and informal at the same time. And of course, his performances are the stuff of legend.
Many major artists, believe their work transcends any political moment. But there are limits, and now, Yo-Yo Ma has made it quite clear where he stands:
World-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma brought his Bach Project to the sister cities of Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, on Saturday. The “Day of Action” featured performances in both cities to celebrate the relationship between the two communities.
Ma played the opening notes of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Suite No. 1 for Unaccompanied Cello in a park next to the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge, one of the crossings that connect the U.S. and Mexican cities.
The Laredo performance took place on an elevated stage before an audience of officials and onlookers. Concerns over possible rain disappeared as Ma began to play in the morning sunshine.
It was part of his Bach Project, which uses the composer’s 300-year-old music to explore connections between cultures. The project has taken Ma all over the world. On Friday it brought him to Laurie Auditorium at Trinity University in San Antonio, and on Saturday it brought him to Laredo, within a few feet of the Rio Grande.
“As you all know, as you did and do and will do, in culture, we build bridges, not walls,” he said. After his performance, he gestured to the bridge to his right. “I’ve lived my life at the borders. Between cultures. Between disciplines. Between musics. Between generations.”
Mateo Bailey, 16, lives in San Antonio. He grew up in El Paso, plays the cello and is the son of Grammy Award-winning cellist Zuill Bailey.
He felt Ma’s performance had special significance “because this event is on the border. And I’m half-Mexican as well as half-American … and for him to connect cello with what’s happening in the world is like, it’s a cultural bridge that was just built, and it’s amazing.”
Yes, it is.
Be sure to watch the video and listen to Yo-Yo’s beautiful playing and his remarks: “A country is not a hotel. And it’s not full.“
Thanks, my friend.