Skip to content
CapRadio

CapRadio

listen live donate
listen live donate
listen live
donate
  • News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
    News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
  • Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
    Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
  • Podcasts & Shows
  • Schedules
  • Events
  • Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
    Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
  • About
  • Close Menu

Classical Communiqué Classical blog

Discussing the way classical music touches the mind and the heart.

subscribe

 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 

Composer John Williams and cellist Yo-Yo Ma bring together 'A Gathering of Friends'

By Mary Louise Kelly, Kat Lonsdorf, Patrick Jarenwattananon | NPR
Tuesday, May 24, 2022

Listen
/
Update RequiredTo play audio, update browser or Flash plugin.

Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, left, with composer John Williams, right. The pair recently released a collaborative recording, A Gathering of Friends, with the New York Philharmonic.

Lawrence Sumulong / Courtesy of Sony Music

"I'd already learned about this wunderkind who played cello, and was very excited to meet him when he came to the [Boston] Pops for one of our television recordings," recalls John Williams, renowned composer of unforgettable film scores like Star Wars and Jurassic Park, of his first hearing another musical star, the cellist Yo-Yo Ma. "I was enormously impressed with this fantastically mature art from such a young person."

"John has a great capacity to make me blush," Ma laughs.

On a new album, A Gathering of Friends, Williams and Ma continue an artistic collaboration going all the way back to Williams' tenure as conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra in the early '80s, eventually resulting in Williams composing a cello concerto with Ma's preternatural talent in mind. The new album includes a revisited version of that concerto, along with new arrangements of film scores including Schindler's List, Lincoln and Munich featuring the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Williams.

The pair sat down with All Things Considered's Mary Louise Kelly to recall those collaborative beginnings, the process of creating for film and to share (some of) the enormous respect they have for each other... and maybe poke a little fun.


You can hear this conversation using the audio player at the top of this page.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

View this story on npr.org

Sign up for ReCap and never miss the top stories

Delivered to your inbox every Friday.

 

Check out a sample ReCap newsletter.

Thanks for subscribing!

Thank you for signing up for the ReCap newsletter! We'll send you an email each Friday with the top stories from CapRadio.

Browse all newsletters

Most Viewed

A plumber crawled under a house in Los Angeles to do a job and then went missing

State may scale down its new home loan program designed to assist first-time homebuyers

California coronavirus updates: Counties with universities saw population increases after students returned from pandemic closures

Trans Day of Visibility celebrations come to the Sacramento region this weekend

10 new California laws that go into effect in 2023

We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter

Back to Top

  • CapRadio

    7055 Folsom Boulevard
    Sacramento, CA 95826-2625

    •  
      (916) 278-8900
    •  
      (877) 480-5900
    •  Contact / Feedback
    •  Submit a Tip / Story Idea
  • About

    • Mission / Vision / Core Values
    • Stations & Coverage Map
    • Careers & Internships
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
    • Press
  • Listening Options

    • Mobile Apps
    • Smart Speakers
    • Podcasts & Shows
    • On-Air Schedules
    • Daily Playlist
    • Signal Status
  • Connect

    •  Facebook
    •  Twitter
    •  Instagram
    •  YouTube
  • Donate

  • Listen Live

  • Newsletters

CapRadio stations are licensed to California State University, Sacramento. © 2023, Capital Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Website Feedback FCC Public Files: KXJZ KKTO KUOP KQNC KXPR KXSR KXJS. For assistance accessing our public files, please call 916-278-8900 or email us.