Johann Sebastian Bach, Luigi Boccherini, Ton Koopman, Yo-Yo Ma, The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra - Yo-Yo Ma - Simply Baroque II ~ Bach & Boccherini / ABO, Koopman

This is the sequel to Yo-Yo Ma's wildly successful Simply Baroque, released last year. Again joined by the excellent Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, with Ton Koopman conducting from the harpsichord, he plays with a baroque bow on his 1712 Stradivarius cello "reconfigured" as a baroque instrument with gut strings and no endpin and tuned a half-tone lower. This gives it a mellower, more subdued sound, though his tone, despite very sparing vibrato, retains its unique expressive warmth and purity. (In concert, he currently performs on his Montagnana cello and one made recently by the well-known American luthiers Moes & Moes.) The program again features two Boccherini concertos and a group of Bach transcriptions for cello and orchestra by Koopman, including the Aria from the Goldberg Variations. These are only intermittently successful and make great demands on the soloist. Ma, of course, meets the demands handily, soaring to stratospheric heights, blending into the orchestra, and weaving figurations around it. The Boccherini concertos are the core of the record, notably the famous B-flat, for which Ma and Koopman went back to the originals in search of a more authentic version than the familiar one (which was actually conflated later from several others by Grützmacher, a cellist and editor). Here, Ma has ample opportunity to display his virtuosity, his charm, and his pleasure in intimate give-and-take with the orchestra; one can almost see him smile. The result is pure delight. --Edith Eisler Amazon.com

Simply Baroque is Beautiful Music

I own both Simply Baroque and Simply Baroque II. I think both offer the listener a truly beautiful listening experience. Yo Yo Ma and Tom Koopman have created magic here. The recording is crystal clear and the music... it's just incredible. I find myself relaxed, involved, immersed - a part of the music itself. How often does this happen? If you enjoy music that moves you body and soul, you really owe it to yourself to purchase both of these Cds. January 29, 2008

It's Yo-Yo Ma

If you enjoy cello music and classical music, this is a great CD with one of the best cellist's out there. I bought it to hear how these period pieces should sound. I'll be happy if I can even get to half the quality of performance Ya exhibits. If you enjoy classical works and may not have any cello music in particular, this album is a good, enjoyable selection for any collection. June 11, 2007

Makes you sleepy

This CD offers music from two composers, J. S. Bach and L. Boccherini. Several famous pieces from each composer are included here as performed by Yo Yo Ma. Having heard all the pieces before on other CD's, I did not like the instrumentation offered here. Many of the pieces were quite subtle and played with too little life. The instrumentation was too little as most of these pieces sound better with a whole symphony playing it, where here it was only a couple of instruments. Overall, not that great a CD. February 20, 2007

Concerts in a sailboat's cockpit

I discovered the first CD of these two when sailing in British Columbia this summer and played it over and over again when sipping wine under fine sunsets in the San Juan and Gulf Islands. There can be no better accompainment to the soft rocking of the boat and a fine wine. This second CD is as wonderful as the first. Pure lisening pleasure. October 20, 2005

no that hot

I usually love Ma, but I don't know why I am not so hot on both of the new super discks. Perhaps it is the miking. I'm surprised noone mentioned it. My CD player is a Meridian. I would be interested in hearing how this effects the pleasure of listening to CDs. March 4, 2001

More reviews at Amazon.com ...