There are ways to end a concert and cellist Yo-Yo Ma made a choice that surprised many music lovers this week at David Geffen Hall, the venue integrated into the Lincoln Center arts complex in Manhattan.
The maestro had performed with the New York Philharmonic an emotional interpretation of Edward Edgar's cello concerto. Once he finished and left, he returned to the room amidst ovations to offer another song, an encore. Instead of resorting to pieces familiar to the public, in a session that was sold out, he opted for 'El cant del ocells', a tribute to Paul Casals and peace in times of war in Europe.
This is how Ma explained it to the 2,200 viewers. She said that it is “a popular song from Catalonia”, one of the favorites of the eminent cellist Pau Casals, who interpreted it as a call for peace and to evoke his native Catalonia.
"The Elgar Concerto was written in 1919, just after the First World War, which made sure it would never happen again," he explained. He then referred to Casals, who after World War II suspended his concerts as a protest to the allies for not overthrowing the dictator Francisco Franco. "And the few times he would play it would be to interpret this piece, which is from his native Catalonia, a popular song that symbolizes freedom," he recounted. It was his way of asking for peace in the war conflict after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Ma has been a fan of 'El cant dels ocells' for a long time and has already performed it on other occasions. In a conversation with The New York Times, the musician stressed that this composition is powerful in part because it highlights the special ability of birds.
“They can literally have altitude and perspective on our world and be free to cross all of our limits and borders. There is something wonderful about that,” she stated.
The Times recalls that Pau Casals is one of the greatest cellists in history and that he fled Spain at the end of the 1930s, assuring that he would not return until democracy was restored. In fact, he died in Puerto Rico, in 1973, and his mortal remains were transferred to his hometown of El Vendrell, in Tarragona. It was 1979, democracy restored.
Living in France, he played 'El cant del ocells' at the end of the Prada music festivals and in the scattered concerts he did in exile. The newspaper recalls that he played at the White House of President John F. Kennedy in 1961 and that he also performed at the UN, in 1971, in a famous interpretation of that theme, just two years before his death, to launch a message against war.
Ma has recognized that Casals is a hero for him. He played for him in 1962, when he was seven years old and the Catalan was 85. Casals helped launch his career when he got Leonard Bernstein, then director of the New York Philharmonic, to notice him and open doors for him.
"Casals showed me, even as a child, that I had priorities," he continues in that conversation. "He was first a human being, second a musician and third a cellist," he added.
