Yo-Yo Ma - Inspired by Bach: The Complete Cello Suites (2005) (3-Disc Set)

This innovative, free-range creative project finds universally acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma exploring Bach's six suites for cello in six segments of interdisciplinary artistic fusion. He collaborates with a wide variety of artists from different fields in order to see Bach's work in a new light. Landscape artist Julie Moir Messervy plans a Bach-inspired Boston garden in "The Music Garden"; Italian architect Piranesi's work frames Ma's music in "The Sound of the Carceri"; Mark Morris choreographs an interpretation of the third suite in "Falling Down Stairs"; director Atom Egoyan creates a story called "Sarabande" from the emotions of the fourth suite; Kabuki actor Tamasaburo puts his own stamp on Bach in "Struggle for Hope"; and finally, in "Six Gestures," ice skaters Torvill and Dean channel their reactions to Bach's music into an ice dance. These unexpected juxtapositions can be jarring but, by the end, Ma's multifaceted examination manages to shed truly new light on the old music.