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Sony Masterworks

Yo-Yo Ma Plays the Music of John Williams

$11.98

Details

Composer
WILLIAMS, JOHN
Artist
Yo Yo Ma
Format
CD
Label
Sony Masterworks
Released
Feb 19, 2002
Catalog #
SK89670
UPC
696998967021

About

This selection is also available in Super Audio CD format.
This selection is a DSD (Direct Stream Digital) recording.
John Williams is known to most people through his scores for blockbuster films such as JURASSIC PARK, SCHINDLER'S LIST, JAWS, and the STAR WARS series, among others, but he is also a noted composer of concert works as well as a renowned conductor. This set features his compositions for cello, performed here by the inimitable Yo-Yo Ma with the composer himself wielding the baton. The album gets off to a rousing start with the Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, a piece that's vintage Williams: a cinematic blend of majestic themes, brassy fanfares, and dramatic flourishes.
The two other orchestral works on the disc are impressionistic tone poems that demonstrate the variety of Williams's sonic palette--the Elegy for Cello and Orchestra sets plaintive melodies amid lush, swirling pastels, while Heartwood evokes a restless moodiness through dense, dark-hued harmonies. The Three Pieces for Solo Cello are showcases for the instrument that explore the full range of its sonorities, incorporating folk elements and touches of Americana along the way. Ma brings his usual artistic commitment and technical brilliance to the proceedings, dispatching the challenges and demands of the works with his customary aplomb. Williams's crowd-pleasing compositional style and Ma's dazzling artistry make a winning combination.

Tracklist 9 tracks

  1. 1 I. Theme and Cadenza 09:12
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Theme and Cadenza
    Duration
    09:12
    Composer
    John Williams
    Performer
    Yo-Yo Ma
    Ensemble
    Los Angeles Recording Arts Orchestra
    Conductor
    John Williams
  2. 2 II. Blues 04:39
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Blues
    Duration
    04:39
    Composer
    John Williams
    Performer
    Yo-Yo Ma
    Ensemble
    Los Angeles Recording Arts Orchestra
    Conductor
    John Williams
  3. 3 III. Scherzo 05:12
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Scherzo
    Duration
    05:12
    Composer
    John Williams
    Performer
    Yo-Yo Ma
    Ensemble
    Los Angeles Recording Arts Orchestra
    Conductor
    John Williams
  4. 4 IV. Song 11:13
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Song
    Duration
    11:13
    Composer
    John Williams
    Performer
    Yo-Yo Ma
    Ensemble
    Los Angeles Recording Arts Orchestra
    Conductor
    John Williams
  5. 5 Elegy 06:22
    Track
    5
    Title
    Elegy
    Duration
    06:22
    Composer
    John Williams
    Performer
    Yo-Yo Ma
    Ensemble
    Los Angeles Recording Arts Orchestra
    Conductor
    John Williams
  6. 6 No. 1. Rosewood 05:37
    Track
    6
    Title
    No. 1. Rosewood
    Duration
    05:37
    Composer
    John Williams
    Performer
    Yo-Yo Ma
  7. 7 No. 2. Pickin' 02:35
    Track
    7
    Title
    No. 2. Pickin'
    Duration
    02:35
    Composer
    John Williams
    Performer
    Yo-Yo Ma
  8. 8 No. 3. The Long Way North 06:14
    Track
    8
    Title
    No. 3. The Long Way North
    Duration
    06:14
    Composer
    John Williams
    Performer
    Yo-Yo Ma
  9. 9 Heartwood 15:43
    Track
    9
    Title
    Heartwood
    Duration
    15:43
    Composer
    John Williams
    Performer
    Yo-Yo Ma
    Ensemble
    Los Angeles Recording Arts Orchestra
    Conductor
    John Williams