My involvement in the political arena is to make sure there's a place for culture. — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share Image
I've been traveling all over the world for 25 years, performing, talking to people, studying their cultures and musical instruments, and I… — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share Image
I want to investigate different cultures, to see how their identities and values affect their music. It's one way I can get… — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share Image
The tango is really a combination of many cultures, though it eventually became the national music of Argentina. — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share Image
But an innovation, to grow organically from within, has to be based on an intact tradition, so our idea is to bring… — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share Image
When you learn something from people, or from a culture, you accept it as a gift, and it is your lifelong commitment… — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share Image
Our cultural strength has always been derived from our diversity of understanding and experience. — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share Image
Culture opens our hearts to one another. And the currency in culture is not money, but trust. — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share Image
A Senegalese poet said 'In the end we will conserve only what we love. We love only what we understand, and we… — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share Image
With every year of playing, you want to relax one more muscle. Why? Because the more tense you are, the less you can hear. — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share Image
A composition is always more than the sum of its parts. In other words, a really good piece of music is more than itself.… — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share Image
My involvement in the political arena is to make sure there's a place for culture. — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share Image
When we enlarge our view of the world, we deepen our understanding of our own lives. — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share Image
People will ask, 'Are you famous?' And I always answer, 'My mother thinks so.' — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share Image
I remember when I was growing up. My great wish was to understand who I was and how I fit in the world. — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share Image
It took me way beyond what I knew, into places of which I was totally scared, but as I became less frightened, I welcomed… — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share Image
One is that you have to take time, lots of time, to let an idea grow from within. The second is that when you… — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share Image
You go through phases. You have to reinvent reasons for playing, and one year's answer might not do for another. — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share Image
When people ask me how they should approach performance, I always tell them the professional musician should aspire to the state of the beginner. — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share Image
Mastering music is more than learning technical skills. Practicing is about quality, not quantity. Some days I practice for hours; other days it will… — Yo-Yo Ma Copy Share Image
