‘A powerful sound’: what it’s like to perform with Yo-Yo Ma and the Czech Philharmonic

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The week we spent in New York City was truly unforgettable, it was one of the most exciting musical journeys of my life. This trip with the Czech Philharmonic culminated with a three-day residence at Carnegie Hall, playing concerts with superstar soloists Yo-Yo Ma, Daniil Trifonov and Gil Shaham. Performing at the Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage is a dream of so many musicians, and I still can’t believe that for several days this magnificent venue was our musical home. 

Our quartet took a different flight to NYC, but we had a chance to see what travel preparation looks like for an orchestra when we were in the Czech Republic. We played through some of the tour programme in the town of Karlovy Vary before leaving for the US and had intense rehearsals there every day. Since we had a few more days of rehearsals back at the Rudolfinum in Prague too, the orchestra was very familiar with all the repertoire before going on tour.

During the whole preparation process, I was especially impressed by Semyon Bychkov’s productivity in the rehearsals - he always comes with exact ideas and points which he wants to look at. Then, if something wouldn’t work, he would have already come up with a plan how to fix the problem, and in that way the rehearsals were very efficient. He knows the orchestra so well; his appreciation and loud ’bravo’ to the individual players when they played wonderfully was so heartwarming.

We arrived in New York City for a chamber music concert the day before moving to Carnegie Hall. As it was our first time there, we took the opportunity to see some of the sights like the Brooklyn Bridge, the Empire State Building and the World Trade Center. The grandiosity of the city and its incredibly busy character adds to the amazing experience performing there.

In the chamber concert ‘Young International Stars open New York’s Czech Week’ there were three string quartets performing: our Zenith Quartet from the Royal Academy of Music, another one formed by the students of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestral Academy and also an American National Youth Orchestra Alumni’s quartet. We performed Elgar String Quartet’s first movement, and then we joined forces with members of the Czech Philharmonic to perform Serenade for Strings by Dvořák. The leadership from the concertmaster Jiří Vodička was truly inspiring; he led this chamber orchestra with great confidence and virtuosity in playing.

The following day was a moment I have waited for many years: we were about to rehearse and perform the Dvořák Cello Concerto with the legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma. I got up early to warm-up with my cello, which is an amazing 17th century Italian instrument, generously loaned to me by conductor Geoffrey Simon. My quartet friends and I took the subway to Carnegie Hall, where we were kindly greeted by the security staff at the artists entrance, and then we were able to try out the acoustics of the Stern Auditorium.

The rehearsal went so smoothly - we did one play-through and then repeated a few small places to check the sound balance. I had with the opportunity to meet Mr. Ma just after the rehearsal. He was so happy to meet me and my friend Jonasz in this backstage room - he greeted us with a smile and hugged us warmly! I gave him an invitation letter to my home country, Lithuania, and he accepted it and promised me that he will read it! It was such a joy to see how humble and warm he is.

During the concert, I saw Mr. Ma make his way to the stage after the usual tuning process for the orchestra. He warmly greeted the orchestra, exchanged a few words with Semyon Bychkov and after that, gave a sign that he was ready to begin the enormous, four-minute long, orchestral introduction. It’s not by accident this concerto is sometimes referred to as Dvořák’s ‘10th symphony’. 

From the first moments of the piece, Mr. Ma was deeply into the mood of the music, as if he would be ready to make a very important statement or to present a powerful story. All of this magnificent concerto feels very much like this.

I was truly impressed by the wind and brass section with their mesmerising sound as a group and their individual virtuosity. In this concerto, they play a huge role in doubling/answering to the solo cello line, especially the horns, flutes and oboes. Since Mr. Ma was always communicating with them not only musically but also by actually looking at them, every time they played together there was this incredible dialogue which was so satisfying to watch.

When performing the introduction, it was so exciting to wait for the first entrance of the solo cello. And after Mr. Ma played the famous quasi improvisando opening statement, I was impressed by the power of the instrument, especially its bass register, and by how Mr. Ma can fill the huge space with a powerful sound so easily. The big sound continued until the second theme of the first movement. The soloist and the conductor combined forces here and they so beautifully stretched the time to make a smooth transition.

The cello melody line was particularly beautiful, and the soloist’s facial expression clearly reflected this theme’s mood – the composer’s longing for his home. After Mr. Ma nailed all the trickiest passages with an amazing precision and the first movement was triumphantly finished, it was time for the lyrical second and the powerful third movements of the concerto.

A few things really stuck in my mind in the second movement. At first, how well organised the dialogue between the orchestra and the soloist was. The orchestra waited for Mr. Ma’s pivotal time-taking moments, and this was reciprocated by the soloist. After any dialogue between the cello and the flute in this movement, or, after the horn solo in the middle, Mr. Ma looked and smiled to the players with his sincere appreciation. Semyon Bychkov helped here with perfect timings, since he knew the soloist and orchestra so well.

The piece quickly moved towards the end with its most exciting third and final movement. It was awesome to see how everyone in the orchestra was excited to play it in a powerful way so that to share its transparent energy with the audience. In the end of the movement, Mr. Ma took everyone’s breath away by masterfully stretching the second last note of the piece (F sharp before going to the triumphant ending B natural on the A string).

I could clearly see that the orchestra had played this extraordinary work hundreds of times by their equal engagement and confidence in accompanying the cellist. The orchestra is mainly formed by Czech players and the respect and love for their country’s musical heritage was obvious, which made the experience even more special.

This incredible musical experience exceeded all my expectations. For me as a young, curious musician every moment spent with the Czech Philharmonic mattered so much! I am so grateful that I had a chance to be part of this tour, which continued to Toronto with a concert of Mahler’s fifth Symphony which I will never forget. I am going into the next chapters of my musical journey motivated and inspired like never before.

The Royal Academy of Music SIDE-BY-SIDE scheme is supported by generous donors to the Semyon Bychkov Educational Enhancement Fund, established at the Royal Academy of Music for Semyon Bychkov’s 70th Birthday.

Photos courtesy Petr Chodura.