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Amihai Grosz looks back on a very unusual career path: At first a quartet player (founding member of the Jerusalem Quartet), then and until today Principal Violist with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, and also a renowned soloist.
Initially, Amihai Grosz learned to play the violin, before switching to the viola at age 11. In Jerusalem, he was taught by David Chen, later by Tabea Zimmermann in Frankfurt and Berlin as well as in Tel Aviv by Haim Taub, who had a formative influence on him. At a very early age, he received various grants and prizes and was a member of the “Young Musicians Group” of the Jerusalem Music Center, a program for outstanding young musical talents.
As a soloist, Grosz has collaborated with renowned conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Tugan Sokhiev, Klaus Mäkelä, Ariel Zukermann, Daniel Barenboim, Sir Simon Rattle, Alexander Vedernikov and Lionel Bringuier. He performs internationally with orchestras such as the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra.
In the world of chamber music, Amihai Grosz collaborates with artists such as Yefim Bronfman, Mitsuko Uchida, Daniel Hope & Friends, Eric le Sage, Janine Jansen & Friends, Julian Steckel, Daishin Kashimoto and David Geringas. Internationally, he can be heard regularly at the most prestigious concert halls such as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Tonhalle Zurich, the Wigmore Hall in London and the Philharmonie Luxembourg, as well as at leading festivals including the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Evian, Verbier and Delft Festivals, the BBC Proms and the Utrecht International Chamber Music Festival.
One of the most beloved and celebrated musical ambassadors of our time, soprano Renée Fleming captivates audiences with her sumptuous voice, consummate artistry, and compelling stage presence. Known as “the people’s diva” and winner of the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Solo, she continues to grace the world’s greatest opera stages and concert halls. Over the past few seasons, Fleming has hosted a wide variety of television and radio broadcasts, including the Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD series and Live From Lincoln Center on PBS. Most recently, Fleming was awarded the National Medal of Arts at the White House by President Obama for her artistic excellence, creativity and innovation.
As a musical statesman, Fleming has been sought after on numerous distinguished occasions, from the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony to performances in Beijing during the 2008 Olympic Games and the 2014 Super Bowl. In January 2009, Fleming was featured in the televised “We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration” at the Lincoln Memorial concert for President Obama. In 2012, in an historic first, Fleming sang on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in the Diamond Jubilee Concert for HM Queen Elizabeth II. Fleming also performed for the United States Supreme Court and, in November 2009, celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Czech Republic’s “Velvet Revolution” at the invitation of Václav Havel. An additional distinction was bestowed in 2008 when, breaking a precedent, Fleming became the first woman in the 125-year history of the Metropolitan Opera to solo headline an opening night gala.
A four-time Grammy winner, Fleming won the 2013 Best Classical Vocal Solo Grammy Award for Poèmes, a collection of 20th-Century French music. In recent years, this fourteen-time Grammy-nominated artist has recorded everything from Strauss’s complete Daphne to the jazz album Haunted Heart to the movie soundtrack of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Her recording honors range from the 2009 Echo Award for Strauss’s Four Last Songs to the Prix Maria Callas Orphée d’Or by the Académie du Disque Lyric for TDK’s DVD production of Capriccio. In February, 2012, Fleming received the Victoire d’Honneur, the highest award conveyed by the French Victoires de la Musique.
An advocate for literacy, Renée Fleming has been featured in promotional campaigns for the Association of American Publishers (Get Caught Reading), and the Magazine Publishers of America’s READ poster campaign for the American Library Association. Her book, The Inner Voice, was published in 2004. An intimate account of her career and creative process, the book was also published in France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and Russia.
Fleming is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the Carnegie Hall Corporation, the Board of Sing for Hope, and the Advisory Board of the White Nights Foundation of America. In 2010, she was named the first ever Creative Consultant at Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Albert Dohmen can look back on a long international career with a first highlight in 1997 performing Wozzeck at the Salzburg Easter and Summer Festival with the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras conducted by Claudio Abbado and directed by Peter Stein. He subsequently worked with famous conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Claudio Abbado, James Conlon and many others. Albert Dohmen has been interpreting the important roles of his fach (like Kurwenal, Pizarro, Wotan, Amfortas, Holländer, Scarpia, Bluebeard, Hans Sachs) at all major opera houses such as the Bastille in Paris, Covent Garden, the Bavarian State Opera, at the opera houses of Zurich, Amsterdam, the Liceo Barcelona, the Vienna State Opera, the opera in Los Angeles etc. He made his debut at the New York Metropolitan Opera as Jochanaan / Salome.
Albert Dohmen established himself as one of the leading Wotan singers of his generation. He sang this part in complete Ring cycles in Trieste, Geneva, Catania, at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Vienna State Opera, at Nederlandse Opera Amsterdam and at the MET, just to name a few.
Recent highlights include his debut as Hans Sachs / Meistersinger von Nürnberg in Geneva and Barcelona, as Gurnemanz / Parsifal in Geneva, as Barak / Frau ohne Schatten in Florence under the direction of Zubin Mehta as well as productions Elektra / Orest in Baden-Baden under Christian Thielemann, Salome / Jochanaan in Amsterdam, Don Giovanni / Commendatore at the Vienna State Opera, Flying Duchman/ Daland in Paris, Falstaff in Stuttgart, Tristan/ König Marke in Barcelona and Meistersinger/ Pogner at La Scala in Milan.
Albert Dohmen made his debut at the Bayreuth Festival 2007 performing Wotan / Wanderer in the Ring cycles with revivals in the following years. At the 2022 Bayreuth Festival he made his debut as Hagen / Götterdämerung and Landgraf / Tannhäuser.
Albert Dohmen is also a very successful concert singer: He has sung the entire bass repertoire from Bach to Schönberg in all important concert halls and at international festivals, for example Beethoven´s 9th symphony under Kurt Masur at the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Brahms´ Requiem, again under Kurt Masur at the St. Denis Festival, Mahler´s 8th Symphony under Valery Gergiev and Gurre-Lieder, Beethoven’s 9th under James Levine. He also has various recital programmes, which he can be hears with in the renowned concert halls.
Among the numerous CDs documenting his artistic output, special mention should be made of his recordings of Zemlinsky’s Florentine Tragedy with the Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Chailly and his three recordings under Sir Georg Solti (Frau ohne Schatten, Fidelio and Meistersinger).
Described as having “all the makings of a star” in the Guardian and hailed as “a lyric tenor clearly going places” in Opera magazine, tenor Sam Furness has sung major roles for Scottish Opera, Garsington Opera and the Teatro Real, Madrid, always earning praise for his compelling acting and innate musicality.
In the 2022/23 season he sings Kudryas Katya Kabanova at Grand Théâtre de Genève followed by performances at National Theater Brno, Andres Wozzeck at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and Tybalt Roméo et Juliette at Savonlinna Opera Festival. He also sings Dvořák Requiem with St Alban’s Bach Choir.
Recent operatic engagements include Kudryas Katya Kabanova (Teatro dell’Opera di Roma); Turiddu Cavalleria rusticana and Beppe Pagliacci (Åbo Svenska Teater, Turku); Pang Turandot (Grand Théâtre de Genève); Albert Gregor The Makropoulos Case (Opernhaus Zürich); White King/Mad Hatter Alice’s Adventures Under Ground (Royal Opera House, Covent Garden); Rodolphe Guillaume Tell (Theater an der Wien); Glass Maker Death in Venice (Royal Opera House, Covent Garden); Lensky Eugene Onegin (Garsington Opera, Royal Academy Opera and at the Ryedale Festival); Novice Billy Budd (Royal Opera House, Teatro Real Madrid and Teatro Municipal Santiago); Simpleton Boris Godunov (Royal Opera House); Vitek The Makropulos Case (Grand Théâtre de Genève, Vlaanderen Opera); Kavalier Cardillac (Vlaanderen Opera); title role Albert Herring (Opera di Firenze, Opera Holland Park and Théâtre du Capitôle Toulouse); Don José Carmen (Jyväskylä Opera); Tamino Die Zauberflöte (Turku Music Festival); Hoffmann Les contes d’Hoffmann (English Touring Opera); Jaquino Fidelio (Garsington Opera and Philharmonie de Paris); Peter Quint/Prologue The Turn of the Screw (Northern Ireland Opera); Števa Jenůfa (Scottish Opera); The Diary of One Who Disappeared (Shadwell Opera); and Flamand Capriccio, Baron Lummer Intermezzo, Gaspar in the world première of David Sawer’s The Skating Rink and Jack in the world première of Roxanna Panufnik’s Silver Birch (all for Garsington Opera).
On the concert platform he has recently sung Mozart’s Vesperae solennes de confessore and Mass in C Minor with Hertfordshire Chorus in St Alban’s Cathedral, Stravinsky’s Pulcinella with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
His oratorio and concert repertoire includes Mozart’s Requiem, Bach’s St Matthew Passion and St John Passion, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Handel’s Messiah and Samson, Britten’s St Nicholas and Les Illuminations, Verdi’s Requiem, and Dyson’s Canterbury Pilgrims.
Michael König is a heroic tenor who performs in the world’s most prestigious opera houses including Semperoper Dresden, Opéra National de Paris, Hamburg State Opera, Frankfurt Opera, Berlin State Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Festival Bayreuth, Liceu Barcelona, Teatro Real Madrid, Covent Garden London, Glyndebourne, Zurich, Oslo, Tokyo and La Scala, Milan. His voice and powerful stage presence is in demand for renowned roles such as Florestan (Fidelio), Max (Der Freischütz), Lohengrin, Siegmund (Die Walküre), Erik (Der Fliegende Holländer), Kaiser (Die Frau ohne Schatten), Bacchus (Ariadne auf Naxos), Jim Mahoney (Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny), Andrey Khovansky (Khovanshchina), Grigory/The Pretender (Boris Godunov), and Sergey (Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk) amongst others.
Michael made his debut at La Scala in 2017 as Max in Der Freischütz. Recently he could be heard in a new production of Lohengrin at the Staatsoper Stuttgart, Florestan (Fidelio) in Luxembourg and Stuttgart, Ariadne auf Naxos in Lausanne and at La Scala in Milan, Jim Mahoney at the Korea National Opera in Seoul, Siegmund (Die Walküre) at the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse as well as in Amsterdam. As a concert performer he sang Beethoven’s 9th symphony at La Scala and with the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel in Los Angeles and on tour in Washington, London and Paris.
Michael is also in high demand on the concert stage. His extensive repertoire includes the tenor parts in Beethoven’s 9th symphony and Missa solemnis, Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, Das Klagende Lied and the 8th symphony and he has performed with top orchestras including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, the LA Philharmonic , the BR and SWR Symphony Orchestras and the San Francisco Symphony.
He has worked with celebrated conductors such as Gustavo Dudamel, Christian Thielemann, Andris Nelsons, Daniele Gatti, Seji Ozawa, Daniel Barenboim, Vladimir Jurowski, Gennadi Rozhdesventsky, Hartmut Hänchen, Sebastian Weigle, Teodor Currentzis and Christoph von Dohnányi.
Michael König was born in Mutlangen, Germany and began his singing career as a member of the Schwäbisch Gmünd St. Michael’s boys’ choir. He studied music at the Mannheim Conservatory with Rudolf Piernay. His early engagements included Jeník (The Bartered Bride) for Glyndebourne Festival, Narraboth (Salome) and Tamino (Die Zauberflöte) in Frankfurt and Lensky (Eugene Onegin) in Baden – Baden, Basel and Paris.
When he is not touring, Michael lives with his family in Haida Gwaii, BC Canada.
Future projects include a concert performance of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck (Tambourmajor) at the Verbier Festival as well as Die Walküre and Die Frau ohne Schatten in Stuttgart and again Die Walküre at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
Mezzo soprano Elena Zhidkova made her professional debut at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. She appeared at the Bayreuth Festival. Claudio Abbado invited her for the concert version of PARSIFAL, for Schumann’s FAUSTSZENEN and for his farewell concert at the Berlin Philharmonic where she appeared again in Händel’s JEPHTA under the baton of Nikolaus Harnoncourt.
At the Teatro Real in Madrid she debuted as Waltraute (GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG) and as Brangäne in TRISTAN UND ISOLDE. A highly sought after guest performer in Tokyo as well she could be heard at the New National Theatre Tokyo among others as Octavian (DER ROSENKAVALIER), Fricka (DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN) and Brangäne (TRISTAN UND ISOLDE). She debuted very successfully as Judith in Bartok’s DUKE BLUEBEARD´S CASTLE at the Teatro alla Scala, a role she has also created at the Barbican Hall London with the London Symphony Orchestra under Valéry Gergiev (published on CD).
Her interpretation of Judith (DUKE BLUEBEARD´S CASTLE) at the Mariinsky Theatre gained her the „Golden Mask“ award as best singing actress in Russia. She was invited to sing the same part under Seiji Ozawas at the Saito Kinen Festival (also published on CD). Her appearance as Fricka (DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN) could be witnessed at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and in the new production of the tetralogy at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. She could be seen as Venus in TANNHÄUSER at the Semperoper Dresden, as Ortrud in PARSIFAL at the Bayreuth Festival and sang Marie (WOZZECK) with the BBC Orchestra under Donald Runnicles and in a new production at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. As Kundry (PARSIFAL) she appeared in Lyon, Vienna, Mannheim and Düsseldorf. She has sung La Principessa di Bouillon (ADRIAnA LECOUVREUR), The Foreign Princess (RUSALKA), Eboli (DON CARLO) and Kundry (PARSIFAL) at the Wiener Staatsoper, Charlotte (WERTHER) under Michel Plasson, as well her debut as Ortrud (LOHENGRIN). She enjoyed great success as Didon in Berlioz’ LES TROYENS, as Amneris in AIDA and Eboli (DON CARLOS) at the Hamburgische Staatsoper, as Nicklausse in LES CONTES D´HOFMMANN at ABAO Bilbao Opera, as Eboli at the Bolshoi, as Judith in BLUEBEARD´S CASTLE in Dresden and as Santuzza in CAVALLERIA RUSTIVANA at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Opéra Bastille Paris.
She celebrated a triumphant success at the Bayreuth Festival in the summer of 2019. Shortly before the festival premiere of the new production of TANNHÄUSER, she took over the role of Venus and was warmly acclaimed for her performance by the international press.
Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen, hailed by the The Economist as “opera’s newest star”, has taken the classical music world by storm since winning the much coveted Operalia competition in 2015. Her resounding debuts in all the most prestigious international venues have garnered overwhelming critical attention: “It’s been a long time since a singer has generated as much buzz,” wrote Gramophone in the review of her debut album for Decca, which debuted at number one in the UK Classical charts. Released on 31 May 2019, her recordings of music by Strauss and Wagner inspired the magazine to declare that “she is one of the greatest vocal talents to have emerged in recent years, if not decades.” Since then, she has released two further solo albums on the label to equal acclaim: an orchestral recital featuring Beethoven, Wagner, Verdi and a
stunning Grieg recital together with with famed Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes.
This season, Davidsen’s many highlights include starring in the BBC’s much coveted Last Night of the Proms, the biggest classical music event in Britain; three major roles debuts: as Marschallin Der Rosenkavalier at the Metropolitan Opera, as Giorgetta Il Tabarro at Gran Teatre del Liceu and as Elisabetta Don Carlo at Royal Opera House, where she also appears as Elisabeth Tannhäuser; and an artistic residency at the Bergen International Festival where she can be
heard singing her first Tosca in concert and Verdi Requiem as well as masterclasses and a song recital. Other appearances include Tannhäuser at Staatsoper under den Linden in Berlin and numerous concert appearances in Paris, Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona and at the Verbier Festival.
Last season saw her make a triple appearance at the Metropolitan Opera as Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, the title role of Ariadne auf Naxos, and as Chrysothemis in Elektra. She returned twice to the Wiener Staatsoper as Ellen Offord alongside Sir Bryn Terfel and Jonas Kaufmann in an all-star performance of Britten’s dramatic opera Peter Grimes, as well as Sieglinde Die Walküre; and Leonore Fidelio at Maggio Musicale in Florence under the baton of Zubin Mehta. On the concert platform, she joined Klaus Mäkelä and the Orchestra de Paris for
Strauss Op. 27 and was an Artist in Focus at the Barbican, where London audiences saw her in recital with Leif Ove Andsnes; an opera gala evening together with Freddie De Tommaso and pianist James Baillieu and a performance of Berg Seven Early Songs together with the Oslo Philharmonic and Klaus Mäkelä as well as a public masterclass with the students of the Guildhall
School of Music & Drama. She also made her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Kirill Petrenko with Zemlinksy Lyric Symphony and toured together with Leif Ove Andsnes in Madrid, Munich, Vienna, Berlin and at the Bergen and Turku Festivals, earning rapturous reviews for their recital of Grieg, Strauss and Wagner songs. Her solo concerts included Hamburg State Opera, Moscow and the Peralada Festival and in summer 2022 she made another triumphant return to Bayreuth Festival, starring as Sieglinde in the much anticipated new Ring tetralogy and as Elisabeth Tannhäuser.
Despite the Covid crisis, Davidsen’s astonishing ascent has been unstoppable: in August 2020 she was one of the first stars featured by the Metropolitan Opera as part of their celebrated series: Met Stars Live in Concert. Davidsen’s rendition of Grieg En Svane and Ved Rondane from the recital was then broadcast together with the New Year’s Speech of King Harald V of Norway and in April 2021 she was a guest on Norway’s most popular chat show, Lindmo. Shortly after this in May 2021, she re-opened the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, with a solo concert under the baton of Maestro Riccardo Chailly, and Bayerische Staatsoper with a concert performance of the 1st Act of Die Walküre alongside Jonas Kaufmann, and in the same week was awarded Female Singer of the Year by the International Opera Awards. Further highlights include Sieglinde Die Walküre in a new production at Deutsche Oper Berlin and in concert at Opera de Paris; the title role of Jenůfa at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam; Elisabeth Tannhäuser at Bayerische Staatsoper; a return to Bayreuth in Tobias Kratzer’s production of Tannhäuser and concert performances of Die Walküre; as well as a Strauss film project with the Norwegian National Opera. On the recital platform, her appearances include recitals at home in Oslo, for the Norwegian National Opera, in Germany at the Konzerthaus Dortmund, in Spain at the Palau de les Arts Valencia; and together with Leif Ove Andsnes in Trondheim and Rosendal Chamber Music Festival in Norway.
Wynton Marsalis is an internationally acclaimed musician, composer and bandleader, an educator and a leading advocate of American culture. He has created and performed an expansive range of music from quartets to big bands, chamber music ensembles to symphony orchestras and tap dance to ballet, expanding the vocabulary for jazz and classical music with a vital body of work that places him among the world’s finest musicians and composers.
Always swinging, Marsalis blows his trumpet with a clear tone, a depth of emotion and a unique, virtuosic style derived from an encyclopedic range of trumpet techniques. When you hear Marsalis play, you’re hearing life being played out through music.
Marsalis’ core beliefs and foundation for living are based on the principals of jazz. He promotes individual creativity (improvisation), collective cooperation (swing), gratitude and good manners (sophistication), and faces adversity with persistent optimism (the blues). With his evolved humanity and through his selfless work, Marsalis has elevated the quality of human engagement for individuals, social networks and cultural institutions throughout the world.
Born to Polish parents what is today Lyvov, Ukrain, Emanuel Ax moved to Winnipeg, Canada, with his family when he was a young boy. Mr. Ax made his New York debut in the Young Concert Artists Series, and in 1974 won the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Tel Aviv. In 1975 he won the Michaels Award of Young Concert Artists, followed four years later by the Avery Fisher Prize.
In fall 2021 he resumed a post-COVID touring schedule that included concerts with the Colorado, Pacific, Cincinnati and Houston symphonies as well as Minnesota, Los Angeles, New York Philadelphia and Cleveland orchestras. 2022/23 will include a tour with Itzhak Perlman “and Friends” and a continuation of the “Beethoven For 3” touring and recording project with partners Leonidas Kavakos and Yo-Yo Ma, this year on the west coast.
In recital he can be heard in Palm Beach, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Chicago, Washington DC, Houston, Las Vegas and New York and with orchestras in Atlanta, Detroit, Boston, San Francisco, San Diego, New York, Naples, Portland OR, Toronto, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Touring in Europe in the fall and spring includes concerts in Germany, UK, Switzerland and France.
Mr. Ax has been a Sony Classical exclusive recording artist since 1987 and following the success of the Brahms Trios with Kavakos and Ma, the trio launched an ambitious, multi-year project to record all the Beethoven Trios and Symphonies arranged for trio of which the first two discs have recently been released. He has received GRAMMY® Awards for the second and third volumes of his cycle of Haydn’s piano sonatas. He has also made a series of Grammy-winning recordings with cellist Yo-Yo Ma of the Beethoven and Brahms sonatas for cello and piano. In the 2004/05 season Mr. Ax contributed to an International EMMY® Award-Winning BBC documentary commemorating the Holocaust that aired on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. In 2013, Mr. Ax’s recording Variations received the Echo Klassik Award for Solo Recording of the Year (19th Century Music/Piano).
Mr. Ax is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and holds honorary doctorates of music from Skidmore College, New England Conservatory of Music, Yale University, and Columbia University. For more information about Mr. Ax’s career, please visit www.EmanuelAx.com.
Yo-Yo Ma’s multi-faceted career is testament to his enduring belief in culture’s power to generate trust and understanding. Whether performing new or familiar works from the cello repertoire, collaborating with communities and institutions to explore culture’s role in society, or engaging unexpected musical forms, Yo-Yo strives to foster connections that stimulate the imagination and reinforce our humanity.
In 2018, Yo-Yo set out to perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s six suites for solo cello in one sitting in 36 locations around the world that encompass our cultural heritage, our current creativity, and the challenges of peace and understanding that will shape our future. And last year, he began a new journey to explore the many ways in which culture connects us to the natural world. Over the next several years, Yo-Yo will visit places that epitomize nature’s potential to move the human soul, creating collaborative works of art and convening conversations that seek to strengthen our relationship to our planet and to each other.
Both endeavors continue Yo-Yo’s lifelong commitment to stretching the boundaries of genre and tradition to explore how music not only expresses and creates meaning, but also helps us to imagine and build a stronger society and a better future.
It was this belief that inspired Yo-Yo to establish Silkroad, a collective of artists from around the world who create music that engages their many traditions. Through his work with Silkroad, as well as throughout his career, Yo-Yo Ma has sought to expand the classical cello repertoire, premiering works by composers including Osvaldo Golijov, Leon Kirchner, Zhao Lin, Christopher Rouse, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Giovanni Sollima, Bright Sheng, Tan Dun, and John Williams.
In addition to his work as a performing artist, Yo-Yo has partnered with communities and institutions from Chicago to Guangzhou to develop programs that advocate for a more human-centered world. Among his many roles, Yo-Yo is a UN Messenger of Peace, the first artist ever appointed to the World Economic Forum’s board of trustees, and a member of the board of Nia Tero, the US-based nonprofit working in solidarity with Indigenous peoples and movements worldwide.
Yo-Yo’s discography of more than 100 albums (including 19 Grammy Award winners) reflects his wide-ranging interests. In addition to his many iconic renditions of the Western classical canon, he has made recordings that defy categorization, among them “Appalachia Waltz” and “Appalachian Journey” with Mark O’Connor and Edgar Meyer and two Grammy-winning tributes to the music of Brazil. Yo-Yo’s recent recordings include: “Sing Me Home,” with the Silkroad Ensemble, which won the 2016 Grammy for Best World Music Album; “Six Evolutions — Bach: Cello Suites;” and “Songs of Comfort and Hope,” created and recorded with pianist Kathryn Stott in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yo-Yo’s latest album is “Beethoven for Three: Symphonies Nos. 2 and 5,” with pianist Emanuel Ax and violinist Leonidas Kavakos.
Yo-Yo was born in 1955 to Chinese parents living in Paris. He began to study the cello with his father at age four and three years later moved with his family to New York City, where he continued his cello studies at the Juilliard School before pursuing a liberal arts education at Harvard. He has received numerous awards, including the Avery Fisher Prize (1978), the National Medal of the Arts (2001), the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2010), Kennedy Center Honors (2011), the Polar Music Prize (2012), and the Birgit Nilsson Prize (2022). He has performed for nine American presidents, most recently on the occasion of President Biden’s inauguration.
Yo-Yo and his wife have two children. He plays three instruments: a 2003 instrument made by Moes & Moes, a 1733 Montagnana cello from Venice, and the 1712 Davidoff Stradivarius.