What came up at age 49 is I realized that of all the things I'm interested in, the thing I'm most interested in is figuring out what makes people tick, why people think the way they do, why they act the way they do. And I realized that music is such a great way to investigate why people do what they do. -Yo-Yo Ma Age
Music has always been transnational; people pick up whatever interests them, and certainly a lot of classical music has absorbed influences from all over the world. -Yo-Yo Ma Music
The tango is really a combination of many cultures, though it eventually became the national music of Argentina. -Yo-Yo Ma Music
The role of the musician is to go from concept to full execution. Put another way, it's to go from understanding the content of something to really learning how to communicate it and make sure it's well-received and lives in somebody else. -Yo-Yo Ma Learning
I love grocery shopping when I'm home. That's what makes me feel totally normal. I love both the idea of home as in being with my family and friends, and also the idea of exploration. I think those two are probably my great interests. -Yo-Yo Ma Family
I love grocery shopping when I'm home. That's what makes me feel totally normal. I love both the idea of home as in being with my family and friends, and also the idea of exploration. I think those two are probably my great interests. -Yo-Yo Ma Home
I think all musicians have at one time or another experienced one physical problem or another. I have had tendinitis a couple of times, so I try to be really careful. It takes patience and persistence to overcome injury. -Yo-Yo Ma Patience
I think one of the great things about being a musician is that you never stop learning. -Yo-Yo Ma Learning
My teacher, my great cello teacher Leonard Rose, was such a great cellist, and nurturing man, very patient. But I grew up not only admiring him, but obviously Casals, Rostrotovich, Jacqueline du Pre, and many others, including many of my peers and contemporaries. -Yo-Yo Ma Teacher
I think there are so many ways to become interested in music. I believe signs of sustained interest gives a sense of the right time. Music, if thought of as a language, would perhaps indicate that as early as possible is not so bad. I do believe that a really nurturing first teacher that makes the child love something is crucial. -Yo-Yo Ma Teacher
Mastering music is more than learning technical skills. Practicing is about quality, not quantity. Some days I practice for hours; other days it will be just a few minutes. -Yo-Yo Ma Learning
I think one of the great things about being a musician is that you never stop learning. -Yo-Yo Ma Great
As you begin to realize that every different type of music, everybody's individual music, has its own rhythm, life, language and heritage, you realize how life changes, and you learn how to be more open and adaptive to what is around us. -Yo-Yo Ma Music
I think of a piece of music as something that comes alive when it is being performed, and I feel that my role in the transmission of music is to be its best advocate at that moment. -Yo-Yo Ma Music
Passion is one great force that unleashes creativity, because if you're passionate about something, then you're more willing to take risks. -Yo-Yo Ma Great
Things can fall apart, or threaten to, for many reasons, and then there's got to be a leap of faith. Ultimately, when you're at the edge, you have to go forward or backward; if you go forward, you have to jump together. -Yo-Yo Ma Faith
As you begin to realize that every different type of music, everybody's individual music, has its own rhythm, life, language and heritage, you realize how life changes, and you learn how to be more open and adaptive to what is around us. -Yo-Yo Ma Life
