Appassionato

Any new compilation CD starring Yo-Yo Ma is certain to please. This master of the cello takes the listener through so many types of music that the ear and mind never tire. The present selection is billed as a sort of "musical autobiography," and, indeed, it gives us a tour of Ma's musical life. The Silk Road Project is represented by Zhao's "Swallow Song," with its eerie, fascinating soundscape (specially re-recorded for this CD). We also accompany Ma on his excursions into the world of the baroque cello with Vivaldi or of the Finnish folk song (by Mamiya, a first recording). There are Gershwin's languid Second Prelude, with its intimations of the song "Summertime," and an all-new recording of a nine-minute heart-breaker by Astor Piazzolla ("Soledad"). Ma also gives us more familiar Brahms, Franck, and Saint-Saens. The compilation's mellow 65 minutes offer relaxing, beautiful music, all exquisitely played. Ma is joined by the best: Emanuel Ax, Kathryn Stott, John Williams (who plays piano on his own "Going to School" from Memoirs of a Geisha), Isaac Stern, and Claudio Abbado. This is a veritable Who's Who of superb musicians. --Robert Levine Amazon.com

Great Artist, Poor Recording

Horrible, horrible recording. Yo Yo Ma, as usual, gives a great performance. The sound engineer, Richard King, should be run out of his profession. The recording is muddled, piano and other instruments are too loud, and even the sound of the cello is occasionally distorted. You can hear Ma breathing and other distracting sounds during the course of certain songs. November 5, 2008

Nice selection

I like the wide selection of music types included on this CD, from classical works to songs from musicals. September 2, 2008

Incomparable!

This CD has almost been worn out by me. I've copied it to my IPod for mobile listening. How do you describe the genius of Yo Yo Ma? This CD also introduced me to the music of Ennio Morricone. Two treasures. August 11, 2008

Not sure what to say

Unfortunately, while I received confirmation from amazon that this had shipped, and was charged for the item, I never received it. I can't find a phone number, and my efforts to secure it via amazon's "where's my order" service and UPS tracking, were so time-consuming and tedious that I gave up in order not to spend hours at work on the tasks. I would like to resolve the issue, and receive another CD that shipped with this one, and it finally occurred to me that this review might help. March 9, 2008

There Aren't Enough Stars...

Of the thousands of albums/cds I have purchased in my lifetime -- were I to have to pick only one to keep -- this would be it.

The mark of the collection is an exquisite sensibility and technical excellence. In several of the pieces, you can feel as if your soul, rather than musical instruments, is being played -- but nothing mundane, boring, sophomoric, sentimental, or trite. The choice of material is intelligent and intuitive -- the taste of a great musician. The culmination piece by Ennio Morricone could arguably be considered the most beautiful 2 plus minutes of recorded music. It is nothing short of a cry to heaven.

Five stars -- hardly enough -- there aren't enough stars for me to rate this. October 10, 2007

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