The cellist performed atop Schatzalp above Davos during the World Economic Forum, with the aim to raise awareness about climate change and glacier preservation
We reckon it’s safe to say Yo-Yo Ma left his precious 1712 ’Davidov’ Stradivari cello at home for this performance!
On 23 January, Ma took to the stage in an unusual setting - against the snowy backdrop of the Swiss Alps atop Switzerland’s Schatzalp, or ’Magic Mountain’.
Ma’s performance coincided with the World Economic Forum in Davos, with the aim to raise awareness about climate change and the importance of preserving the environment.
The concert, Performing Hope, was organised in collaboration with Arctic Basecamp, an initiative focusing on climate change research and action. It coincides with the start of the UN International Year of Glacier Preservation.
The Swiss Alps have lost more ice in the last three years than they did in the 30 years preceding 1990. The concert aimed to convey the message that ‘the world must avoid a requiem for the world’s glaciers threatened by climate change.’
’For me, performing arts is a way of combining knowledge and the human experience in a way that moves us so deeply, in a way that science or language can never quite do,’ said Arctic Basecamp’s executive director Gail Whiteman.
’The performing arts is the perfect antidote to the climate crisis we are facing right now and these really strong crosswinds coming from governments across the world, from businesses that are backsliding. I think we need the performing arts to get us in the right place.’
Whiteman continued: ’We wanted to be at Davos because that’s where power is. We can reach people in a different way because they’ve all gathered here. But to have our event outside in the magnificence of nature is to remind people that regardless of what they’re discussing in those closed doors, this is really what’s happening.’
In the following video, Ma can be seen performing excerpt of Bach’s Prelude to Cello Suite no.1, as well as Over the Rainbow by Harold Arlen:
Watch: Solo Bach in Alaska from cellist Yo-Yo Ma
Read: ‘Everyone has to do something’: Yo-Yo Ma performs outside Russian embassy
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