Ma, Yo-Yo (mä), 1955–, American cellist, b. Paris. The son of musicologist Hiao-Tsun Ma, who left China in the 1930s, he was a musical prodigy, giving a public recital in Paris at the age of six. In 1963 he and his family settled in New York City, where he began attending the Julliard School of Music at the age of nine. He later studied at Harvard. Ma appeared at Carnegie Hall in 1964 and won the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize in 1978. One of the era's premier string players, he continues to appear as a soloist with many of the world's best orchestras and is a superlative chamber player and frequent recital performer. Ma is acclaimed for his extraordinarily broad repertoire, ravishing tone, superb musicianship, and dazzling technique, and is noted for his seeming state of passionate transport while performing. In 1998 Ma founded the Silk Road Project, a cross-cultural musical enterprise that includes concerts, festivals, recordings, publications, and the commissioning of new works.

Ma, Yo-Yo

(born Oct. 7, 1955, Paris, France) French-born U.S. cellist. Born to Chinese parents in France, he made his cello debut at age five. He attended the Juilliard School and then Harvard University. Praised for his extraordinary technique and rich tone, Ma performed and recorded the standard cello repertoire and received a large number of commissions from contemporary composers. He is known for his many recordings with the pianist Emanuel Ax (b. 1949), for his collaborations with an unusual range of other musicians and artists, and for his energetic work on behalf of music programs for young people and a variety of international causes. In 1998 he founded the Silk Road Project, an arts organization that explores the historical and current exchange of ideas between Asian and Western cultures.

Ma, Yo-Yo (1955– ) cellist; born in Paris, France. Coming to New York City with his family at age seven, Ma enrolled at Juilliard at age nine, and after studies at Harvard, he ascended rapidly to the highest rank of international soloists. He is noted for warmth of playing joined with superlative technique, a repertoire stretching from Bach to the moderns, and a youthfully enthusiastic stage presence.