Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma will appear at Penn State for only the third time when he performs in concert with pianist Kathryn Stott. Ma, whose career is defined by an insatiable desire to find musical connections across cultures, and Stott, a fixture on the international music scene for decades, have performed together for more than thirty years. Their collaborations include two Grammy Award-winning albums, Obrigado Brazil and Obrigado Brazil–Live in Concert. The pair’s most recent album is 2015’s Songs from the Arc of Life.

Their program is scheduled to include Igor Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne, Sergei Prokofiev’s Sonata in C Major for Cello and Piano, Op. 119, and Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Sonata in G minor for Cello and Piano, Op. 19.

“When it comes to artistic partnerships, there’s a lot to be said for the fireworks of musicians joining together for the first time,” writes an NPR critic. “But there’s another kind of collaboration that can yield profound pleasure: a recording with two artists who know each other deeply, in a relationship that has unfolded over years and even decades. That’s the case with world-famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Kathryn Stott, who have been playing together since 1984. Over those many years, they’ve developed a wonderfully warm and mutually responsive musical partnership that has blossomed in performances that are both generous and incisive.”

Ma’s discography includes more than 100 albums. Eighteen have earned Grammys. His most recent, Bach Trios, came out in May and is a collaboration with bassist Edgar Meyer and mandolinist Chris Thile. Sing Me Home, his 2016 recording with the Silk Road Ensemble, is a companion to the documentary film The Music of Strangers.

Stott has performed globally as a soloist and a chamber musician since 1978, when she was a prize winner at the Leeds International Piano Competition. She is an exponent of tango and other Latin dance music. Her most recent solo release, Solitaires, explores French works for piano. She was recently appointed artistic director of the Australian Festival of Chamber Music.

Artistic Viewpoints will not be offered before this performance.