John Williams, Yo-Yo Ma, New York Philharmonic Orchestra

John Williams, Yo-Yo Ma, New York Philharmonic Orchestra

A Gathering of Friends

From the more painful Schindler's List theme music played by cello to the cello concerto composed by John Williams himself

Contains masterpieces that will touch the hearts of listeners around the world

Friends Reunited – John Williams Performed by Yo-Yo Ma 

Yo-Yo Ma is an incredible musician who puts effort into his innate talent and continues to maintain even the pure joy of music without a lack of dedication. Unlike Yo-Yo Ma, who has a positive influence on those around him with his extroverted energy, John Williams, a phenomenal musician who is immersed in his own work with a shy smile, is renewing the highlights of his career every year despite his age. The maestro of this film score wishes to celebrate his 90th birthday this year in 2022 with his old friend Yo-Yo Ma. 

40 years of friendship 

Exchanges between the two musicians date back to the early 1980s. At the time of their main stage, the Tanglewood Music Festival, Yo-Yo Ma was just starting her career as a young soloist, and John Williams had been music director of the Boston Pops Orchestra since 1980. The two musicians continued their friendship through various works and stages together, including music for Steven Spielberg's 2005 film Memoirs of a Geisha, as well as performing on the same stage at President Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony in 2008. 

This album contains composed by John Williams himself. In 1994, Yo-Yo Ma's solo performance was first performed at the Tanglewood Festival. This work, which consists of a total of four movements, has subtitles attached to each movement, and at first glance, it sounds like a single movement work that continues without pause between movements. And above all, the most powerful feature of this work is that it gives the same role as an actor to the cellist who plays the solo. The cellist who plays the solo becomes not just a musician, but a leading actor in the piece. Anyone can easily imagine that Yo-Yo Ma, a soloist with a variety of musical expressions, is perfect for the role. John Williams wrote this piece for him, Yo-Yo Ma. was played with the most recent revision, the 2021 revision. Yo-Yo Ma, who re-recorded this piece, introduces a new version of Williams' , which he has played for a long time, saying, "There has been a big change." In fact, compared to the recording released in 2001, the newly recorded by Williams has a much more refined orchestration, providing frequent moments to focus on the cello itself.

Friends who are not musicians were also invited to this album. That is John Williams' lifelong ally, Steven Spielberg. You can enjoy the arrangement of Yo-Yo Ma's cello solo performance with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra of three pieces from the movie , directed by Spielberg and music by Williams.