Classical Music Super Star Yo-Yo Ma Performs First Solo Recital at the Kimmel Center November 13
October 26, 2007
"A rich tone and smooth, legato phrasing are his signature." —New York Times
Classical Music’s biggest superstar Yo-Yo Ma returns to the Kimmel Center for his first solo recital taking the stage with acclaimed British pianist Kathryn Stott on Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 8pm. Yo-Yo Ma's wide ranging cello repertoire defies categorization with a discography of over 75 albums, including Grammy-winning tribute Obrigado Brazil exploring the music of Brazil with Kathryn Stott. One of Britain's most versatile and imaginative musicians, Stott’s wide ranging musical interests have taken her to the major international concert platforms and festivals throughout the world. Both musicians have sought to expand the Western classical tradition by performing lesser known music of the 20th century and commissions of new concertos and recital pieces, as well as exploring cultures and musical forms outside the Western hemisphere.
This concert is the second in the Master Musician Recital Series scheduled for the 2007/2008 season. The next concert in the series will be Lang Lang on Sunday, March 16, 2008 at 7:30pm.
Tickets for Yo-Yo Ma are $94, $79, $65, $51, $43, and $38 and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelcenter.org, or at the Kimmel Center box office open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply.) For group sales call 215-790-5883.
A limited number of $10 tickets are available for every Kimmel Center Presents performance at the Kimmel Center. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Kimmel Center box office beginning 2.5 hours prior to curtain time and 11:30am for matinees. Limit one ticket per person.
Yo-Yo Ma's multi-faceted career has included engagements as a soloist with some of the great orchestras of the world, as well as his recital and chamber music activities. One of Mr. Ma's goals is the exploration of music as a means of communication, and as a vehicle for the migration of ideas, across a range of cultures throughout the world. To that end, he has taken time to immerse himself in subjects as diverse as native Chinese music with its distinctive instruments and the music of the Kalahari bush people in Africa.
Across a full range of releases –including Silk Road Journeys: Beyond the Horizon as well as an appearance on John Williams' soundtrack for Rob Marshall’s film Memoirs of a Geisha--Mr. Ma remains one of the best-selling recording artists in the classical field. He draws inspiration from a wide circle of collaborators, creating programs with such artists as Emanuel Ax, Daniel Darenboim, Christoph Eschenbach, Kayhan Kalhor, Ton Koopman, Bobby McFerrin, Edgar Meyer, Mark Morris, Mark O'Connor, Kathryn Stott, Wu Man, Wu Tong, and David Zinman.
Yo-Yo Ma is also strongly committed to educational programs that not only bring young audiences into contact with music, but also allow them to participate in its creation. He works to connect music to students' daily surroundings and activities with the goal of making music and creativity a vital part of children’s lives from an early age. In 1998, Mr. Ma established the Silk Road Project to promote the study of the cultural, artistic and intellectual traditions along the ancient trade route that stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. The Project’s major activities have included the 2002 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which included more than 400 artists from 25 countries and drew more than 1.3 million visitors, and concerts at the 2005 World Expo in Aichi, Japan.
Internationally known pianist Kathryn Stott has captivated audiences worldwide with her poetic musicality and engaging personality. She is greatly in demand for chamber music alliances, playing with some of the world’s leading instrumentalists, as well as appearing on major international concert platforms in recitals and concerto performances. As a concerto soloist, she enjoys associations with major orchestras in Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, France, Hong Kong and Australia, and she recently toured Japan with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. She has also directed several distinctive concert series and festivals and has built up an extensive and exceptionally varied catalogue of recordings. In addition to her busy career as a performer, she is a professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London, as well as teaching at Chethams’ School of Music in Manchester.
Born in Lancashire, she studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School with Vlado Perelemuter and Nadia Boulanger, then at the Royal College of Music in London with Kendall Taylor. In 1978, she attracted critical attention as a prize-winner at the Leeds International Piano Competition.
Kimmel Center Presents 2007/2008 season is sponsored by Citi. Support for the Mellon Jazz Series comes from The Bank of New York Mellon. The Great Orchestra Series is supported by ARC Wheeler. Additional support is provided by the University of Pennsylvania Health System and American Express.. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. Toyota is the Official Vehicle of Kimmel Center Presents Mellon Jazz, Mellon Jazz Up Close and World & Pop. NBC-10 is a Media Partner for Kimmel Center Presents, and additional media sponsors include WDAS, WRTI, WJJZ, Afro-Pop, WXPN and WXPN's Kids Corner 20th Anniversary.
The Kimmel Center also receives support from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, The William Penn Foundation, The Wachovia Foundation, Verizon Foundation, PNC Foundation, The Philadelphia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and the Philadelphia Music Project and Dance Advance, Initiatives of The Pew Charitable Trust administered by The University of the Arts. In-kind support is generously provided by Deloitte.
Free in the Plaza programming and subsidized tickets offered to the community and social service groups for $10 are made possible through the Wachovia Gateway to the Arts Community Access Program, supported by a generous grant from Wachovia Foundation.
KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS SPONSORED BY CITI
Tuesday, November 13, 2007 | 8pm
Verizon Hall
Master Musicians Recital Series
Yo-Yo Ma, cello
Kathryn Stott, piano
FRANZ SCHUBERT: Sonata in A Minor for Arpeggione and Piano, D.281
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH: Sonata in D minor, Op. 40
ASTOR PIAZZOLLA: Le Grand Tango
GISMONTI/CARNEIRO: Bodas de Prata & Quatro Canto
CESAR FRANCK: Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano
FREE AT THE KIMMEL EVENT:
Tuesday, November 13, 2007 | 6:30pm
Commonwealth Plaza Stage
La Vita Williams Guitar Duo
Recently hailed as "a duo of spectacular energy and technical resource" (Nylon Review), and billed as "rising stars in the New York classical guitar scene" (New York Classical Guitar Society), La Vita Williams Guitar Duo has stunned audiences with a delicate mixture of virtuosity and musical sensitivity for nearly three years.
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