World-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma encouraged Hong Kong students on Tuesday to stay curious and keep asking questions, stressing the human spirit could never be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI), before giving a surprise performance.
The accomplished musician also touched on topics ranging from cultural appropriation to anthropology as part of a campus event at Chinese University, later wrapping up with a recital of J.S. Bach’s famous Cello Suite No 1 in G Major.
Ma is in Hong Kong to perform for two nights at Tsim Sha Tsui’s Cultural Centre.
University vice-chancellor Rocky Tuan Sung-chi was among hundreds in the audience as the 68-year-old cellist said students were at an age where they were more open to new ideas, extolling the virtues of asking: “What is it all about?” and “Why?”
Yo-Yo Ma in Hong Kong: nearly 900 in ticket frenzy for recital by star cellist
Yo-Yo Ma in Hong Kong: nearly 900 in ticket frenzy for recital by star cellist
“Don’t give up on any of those questions, because what you put into your minds at that age, that’s your bank account to withdraw from intellectually and emotionally for the rest of your life,” Ma said. “Whatever you put in, treasure that. If they’re questions, great. If you don’t have the answers, fine.”
The musician also took a student’s question on AI and emphasised that the technology was no substitute for the human spirit, citing his experience performing one of Beethoven’s most “sunny, noble and majestic” pieces, the Piano Concerto No 5 in E-flat Major, Op 73 Emperor.
The famed German composer is believed to have written the piece amid the Napoleonic Wars (1799–1815), while living in Vienna, Austria.
“Beethoven wrote that piece of music amid sorrow and tears as Napoleon bombarded Vienna,” Ma said. “That’s the human spirit – at his lowest point, he was able to conjure up something unbelievably optimistic.
“AI could, let’s say, produce the same piece of music, write the same Shakespeare play or Dream of the Red Chamber – whatever you want. But without the context, you can’t go to that level of appreciation.”
Yo-Yo Ma, Lang Lang among highlights of Hong Kong Phil’s 2023/24 season
Yo-Yo Ma, Lang Lang among highlights of Hong Kong Phil’s 2023/24 season
Ma discussed the importance of his intercultural upbringing, having been born in Paris to Chinese parents and moving to the United States at age seven, and said those experiences had informed his adult life, including his studies in anthropology at Harvard University in the 1970s.
“For me, anthropology looks at values. The equivalent of the DNA of a culture is its values,” the cellist said, adding he had received contradictory social messages growing up since French, Chinese and American cultures each included claims that they were the greatest.
“I decided I didn’t want to choose,” he said. “I prefer to live a more complicated bicultural, tricultural life because I see the benefits of each.”
Ticket resale prices for Yo-Yo Ma concert in Hong Kong hit altissimo range
Ticket resale prices for Yo-Yo Ma concert in Hong Kong hit altissimo range
Ma, who has earned 19 Grammy Awards over his career, gave a recital with pianist Kathryn Stott on Monday which included Shostakovich’s Sonata for Cello and Piano in D minor, Op 40.
He also will play alongside the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra on Wednesday, featuring Dvorak’s Cello Concerto.
The public events are Ma’s first in Hong Kong since 2016 and have seen tickets quickly sold out, with scalpers offering spots for as much as HK$20,000 (US$2,500) a seat.