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Archive 1

Sources

OK. Since I've been giving so much grief to people about sources tonight, I've got to ask (out of incredible curiosity), where did the family stuff come from?  :) - Hephaestos 02:55 12 Jul 2003 (UTC)

Do they look fake? They didn't to me when I read them. They are from Chinese and English Googles. Those pages are either purely in Chinese or purely in English (except some Chinese pages have "Yo-yo Ma" in the tilte) -- which indicates that these sources are independence researches and not mere transl. of each other. But where there are Romanizations, the names do resemble follow one degree or another of the several stablished Romanizations existing at the time. For example, born in China, Ma's father has a Romanization that resembles Wade-Giles. Ma's sister has EFEO-like name (École Fraçaise d'Étudies Orientales, IIRC), as shown by the "eou" part (simply "o").
But no, I cannot tell for certain these sources, or even had I used books, are accurate and have been proofread by the Ma family. Maybe one of the Mas will be a Wikipedian some day?
I mean, Hephaestos, I try always to provide info I deem accurate, even though I can be wrong. But trying to prove my validation process by tracing back my steps takes basically has me repeat my research again. For people's names and dates, especially in late 20th century, shoul we provide footnotes? What looked wrong with those family members' names? --Menchi 03:44 12 Jul 2003 (UTC)
They didn't look wrong or unbelievable to me, I was just kind of asking in "wow that's cool, where did you get it"? mode. Sorry for the confusion; everything I've seen you add here and elsewhere has been valuable. - Hephaestos 15:18 12 Jul 2003 (UTC)
Just to comment on the two year old discussion (for current editors), things don't have to look wrong. Everything should be cited to prevent others having to go through the research all over again to confirm what is written. --Sketchee 22:39, Jun 5, 2005 (UTC)

Hebrew?

I noticed that the link to the corresponding page on the Hebrew Wikipedia actually leads to the page there about the Hebrew language. Just thought I'd bring that to someone's attention. Herzliyya 03:21, 16 March 2006 (UTC)

Arthur

Wasn't he in a episode of arthur? I think he was. The one where he battles another composer by making a flute out of a bike pump. Weird. --HomfrogHomfrogTell me a story!ContribulationsHomfrog 16:29, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Nevermind. --HomfrogHomfrogTell me a story!ContribulationsHomfrog 16:29, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Trivia?

This is a little irrelevent, but it annoys me SO much. In the trivia, it says he was referenced in JAPANESE rapper Jin's song. Yet afterward, it says Jin is Chinese-american. This part is true. HE IS NOT JAPANESE. He is Chinese. Mooski Magnus 02:35, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Don't wait for an invitation to change small details like that. If it's wrong, go ahead and fix it. Djcartwright 15:46, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

Photo

Sorry, I just think that the current photo of Yo-yo doesn't do him any justice. Could somebody find a better one? Thanks. .onion 04:16, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

Quite so. Even a crop of the second picture in the article would be far far better. -- mattb @ 2007-01-26T02:52Z

I believe there used to be a photo up from the cover of Classic Yo-Yo. I don't know if the text was a probelm but there are plenty of photos on his website. If someone could do that great! I'm too busy practicing cello ironically. Keegan 00:46, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

Birth

Under early life it says that he is born in Paris. In the information box on the right hand side it says that his place of birth is Berlin. Am I reading this wrong or what? Where was he really born? I believe that this needs to be specified.
--¿Why1991 ESP. | Sign Here 05:27, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

He was born in Paris. Someone vandalized the page to change the infobox to Berlin, the info in the article to Berlin, and "French-born" to "German-born". Unfortunately the vandalism didn't get reverted all in one step, so the infobox vandalism remained till just now. —Angr 15:04, 4 January 2007 (UTC)#

No that person is NOT from Berlin. I am from Berlin and I can tell you: this bizarre fiddler ist not one of us!! - Janine

why'd you say bizarre? he is not a bizarre fidler... 130.13.114.251 04:20, 11 June 2007 (UTC)


Meeting with Rostropovich

There is an incident that is missing not only from this biography but from the others that I have seen, which I find surprising. In 1976, while still a Harvard student, Ma participated in a master class taught by Rostropovich. It took place in Sanders Theater and was supposed to involve four students. Ma was the second. Rostropovich let him play the entire piece without interruption, which I understand was very unusual. He then played with Ma for the rest of the allotted time, so that, unfortunately, the other two students never got a chance. This was Rostropovich's first meeting with Ma. I can't help but think that it must have been an event of some significance in his career. I can't add this myself since it would be original research, but I know that it took place because I was there. Maybe someone can track down a source for this.Bill 05:17, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

world reknown

I removed this as uneccessary. Thanks, --Tom 18:45, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

Lead sentence and nationality

Please refer to wp:mosbio. The comment that he dosen't look American is offensive. What do Americans look like?!? If you want to add French-born to the lead thats ok, but ethnicity should be left for the family/background section like all other bios. Thanks, --Tom 19:55, 27 August 2007 (UTC)

If ethnicity is not to be used, fair enough, but don't label him American when he was born in France. I am removing the nationality altogether. 'American' is just misleading. -- Chris.B 19:57, 27 August 2007 (UTC)
i don't understand what you find confusing. ma is a naturalised american citizen. ...did someone actually have the gall to comment that he doesn't look american?! --emerson7 | Talk 21:25, 27 August 2007 (UTC)
Unfortuneately yes. --Tom 21:43, 27 August 2007 (UTC)
Why is it misleading? He IS an American? What is the big deal here? --Tom 21:40, 27 August 2007 (UTC)
Re added Ma's nationality per wp:mosbio--Tom 19:21, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

(de-indent) "Ma is a naturalised American citizen" - are there any sources for this? -- Chris B • talk • contribs 08:26, 8 September 2007 (UTC)

Probably are but I am too lazy to look right now. I will check it out and add it later if its soucable. Also to the editor that keeps saying the Ma dosen't look American, please take those racist, bs comments elsewhere, thanks. --Tom 14:12, 8 September 2007 (UTC)
from la bouche du cheval: [1] --emerson7 | Talk 15:54, 8 September 2007 (UTC)
Ah, that's sorted then. -- Chris B • talk • contribs 19:03, 8 September 2007 (UTC)

Picture

Can we get another picture for this page the image that's at the top right now doesn't look so good. -Vcelloho 17:15, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

Classical Career

It seems that this article is a bit too focussed on Ma's work in the media, and marginalises his role as one of the major classical musicians working today. More on his career in classical music would I think be apposite.86.149.54.241 (talk) 14:14, 31 March 2008 (UTC)

School of Rock

He was referenced in school of rock. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.151.3.229 (talk) 20:16, 17 August 2008 (UTC)

Hi, I was wondering if it would be appropriate for someone to add an external link to the ZotFish page for Yo-Yo Ma?. I believe it's of genuine interest to readers, but I want to make sure I follow Wikipedia policy and not post it myself -- more info on the site can be found at Mashable. - Zotman (talk) 03:55, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

The site violates WP:ELNO, and does not enhance the article. It should not be added. --- Barek (talk • contribs) - 15:24, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

"He is generally considered to be the most famous, living cellist—or even classical musician[2]—in the world.[3][4]"

"most famous in the world ..."

This is a joke - I live in the centre of Europe, and study at the world's largest conservatory - and we have dozens of asians who never cared the least for Yo-yo ma.

His fame is an american phenomenon, and not connected to the rest of this world. I removed the comment - an encyclopedia like wikipedia should be concerned with quality articles, and not popular opinion. Add a trivia section and post it, if you have any other source than the new york times, and other american media. JJ

Please refrain from making, sourced and especially unsourced claims to prestige and greatness. Those statements, even if sourced, not only are not objective but also highly un-encyclopedic. Please note, that although it is true that Ma’s got important media coverage in the American media, this does not mean he is necessarily the best or one of the best cellists in America or the world, that only makes him popular, and that it is not possible to say who is the best or one of the greatest etc. I agree with you that it is possible to find in Europe 100s of cellists (and also many in the states) better that him, but this is not the point. --Karljoos (talk) 20:37, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

Nationality & Citizenship

Does Yo-Yo Ma have the American nationality? Is he legally an American citizen? When did he become an American? Does he hold Chinese and French nationalities? I think it would be interesting to include this information. Cheers --Karljoos (talk) 20:37, 7 February 2009 (UTC)

Adding to this, why is he labeled as Chinese-American, he could be Franco-Chinese, buy there is no American in his heritage, just because he lives in America, doesn't make him Chinese-American. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.217.131.167 (talk) 21:05, 9 February 2009 (UTC)

Doctor

Uhh, just to let you know. Yo-Yo Ma IS a doctor; he was given an honarary doctorate. He should be referred to as '''''DR'''''. Yo-Yo Ma.

Well, that isn't so clear. It is considered rather gauche for people with honorary doctorates to refer to themselves as Dr. or to insist that others do. My impression is that when someone is very distinguished but in a field in which it is unusual or unheard of for someone to have an earned doctorate, the honorary doctorate may serve as a basis for calling the person Dr. On the other hand, if the person is in a field in which there is such a thing as an earned doctorate, use of the title is avoided because it risks confusion with an earned doctorate. Since there is such a thing as a doctorate in music, I think that it is probably conventional not to call him Dr.Bill 05:13, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

I am afraid people who receive honorary doctorates can't use the title. Only people with academic research doctorates, medical doctorates etc can use the title before their name. Yo-yo is therefore not a Doctor. --Karljoos (talk) 23:29, 1 April 2009 (UTC)

in re his wife

In one paragraph, the article describes the woman who would eventually be his wife as a mount holyoak student, etc. A paragraph and an half ( and several years) later it says she is a professor. Simply from a stylistic point of view, I believe it should say something like "by this time a professor" simply to make the article flow better. I will not change it myself as, I don't know if the professorship refers to her status at the time of marriage or to her current status. 75.177.47.137 (talk) 21:48, 21 January 2010 (UTC)

Picture quality

There's two things I would like to bring up.

First, the infobox picture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Yo-Yo_Ma.jpg is very low quality. The resolution is awful. I'm sure there are much better photos we can come up with for the infobox. Is there a reason we're using such a grainy one in such a prominent place?

Second, I think http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Yo-Yo_Ma_-_World_Economic_Forum_Annual_Meeting_Davos_2008.jpg is a WONDERFUL photo. What do people think of nominating it for Valued or Featured photo? --Pstanton (talk) 07:32, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

The reason is simple. At one time, it was the only photo we had. Now that we have many to choose from, why not remove it and replace it with something better? I hope this solves the problem. Viriditas (talk) 07:41, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

Fact

I love how whenever I put in the fact that he was kicked out of Trinity School in 7th grade for cheating someone deletes it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.174.79.205 (talk) 01:58, 5 June 2010 (UTC)

We have a biographies of living persons policy; you'd need a reliable source to make such an assertion. Antandrus (talk) 02:01, 5 June 2010 (UTC)

His Name

The article refers to him as "Ma". This is his family name and should only be used with a title. Otherwise, referring to him by his full name is in order. Using his family name alone is very odd (especially consider it means "horse" alone). Has he shown a desire to be called this? If not, I think a more conventional reference to him is in order. Chinese names typically have the family name last, but those in the West often put it at the end, but I know of no convention of breaking with naming conventions beyond that. For simplicity, it should read "Mr. Ma". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.121.75.208 (talk) 01:55, 23 November 2010 (UTC) Agreed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lsysylvia (talk • contribs) 00:51, 18 October 2011 (UTC)

The White House With Hu Jintao

Did he play there? It might count as important...

—67.180.86.254 (talk) 04:46, 24 January 2011 (UTC)

Toronto Music Garden

Hi, Today, I was in Toronto and walked through Yo Yo Ma's music garden. You can read information about it at these sites:

  • Chapter 13 of Whiting's biography relates the Music Garden story.
Whiting, Jim (2008). Yo-Yo Ma: A Biography. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-313-34486-2.

I have noted that the article doesn't seem to mention the actual garden in Toronto. People can acquire headphones from a nearby place and listen to Yo Yo Ma's music while they enjoy the park.

Also, Toronto has named a road after him, Yo Yo Ma Lane.

Should we do a paragraph on this? DonaldRichardSands (talk) 07:48, 13 August 2011 (UTC)

"This is a Chinese name" tag

Chinese names have the surname first. Isn't "Yo-Yo Ma" the English version of "Ma Yo-Yo", and if so, should "Yo-Yo Ma" be considered a "Chinese name"? Shawnc (talk) 01:30, 4 March 2012 (UTC)

Yes, but seeing as he was born in France and is American, and has spent very little of his life in Taiwan or China, the given name goes first. It doesn't stop it from being a Chinese name. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.100.106.174 (talk) 17:45, 12 April 2012 (UTC)
It does stop it being written in Chinese characters though. So why is his name rendered thus in the infobox? Unless he regularly uses such characters to write his name, having them there is nothing more than silly ethnic irredentism. Meowy 22:14, 7 May 2012 (UTC)
Agree. Is there any good reason no to remove them? William Avery (talk) 16:49, 5 September 2012 (UTC)

Occupation

One of his occupations is listed as "pedagogue." Is this really a better choice than "teacher?"Thirtysilver (talk) 14:17, 4 May 2010 (UTC)

I work for his office, and he is not a composer. I have removed this from occupation and from the summary. Spostings1007 (talk) 19:20, 18 September 2012 (UTC)

Fame versus ability

"Ma is regarded by some as the most famous cellist of the modern age." Well of course he is, he undoubtedly the "most famous" cellist in the world. But so what? Why does this piece of celebrity-age trivia belong in the opening paragraph? What would be important would be if he was "regarded by some as the BEST cellist of the modern age." I don't know whether he is or not, but someone should fiond out and put a more useful statement here. The point about cellists is not that they're famous, but that they're good. Or not. Intelligent Mr Toad (talk) 15:44, 2 September 2012 (UTC)

Agree. This kind of vague superlative seems like WP:PEACOCK to me. In the article cited one Ben Roe of NPR refers to him as 'arguably the most famous classical musician on the planet', which shouldn't be used as an excuse to generalize about how he is 'regarded by some'. (I should not be going into this question, but has Mr Roe not heard of Lang Lang?) The Grammies and National Medal of Arts should speak for themselves. Incidentally, the Oxford Dictionary of Music refers to Ma having achieved 'international eminence' in the 1970s. William Avery (talk) 17:08, 2 September 2012 (UTC)

So why was it changed to "one of the most famous"? I wouldn't say that the fact that he's the only cellist I could name is particularly relevant, but I wonder then how these statements are made. I think he is the most famous cellist in the world, not just one of the most famous etc. --Richardson mcphillips (talk) 02:52, 10 January 2013 (UTC)

Years active?

The infobox says "fl. ca. 1961–present" however the article doesn't mention any event in 1961 (when Ma was 6). I suggest we delete this. Kleinzach 12:54, 5 April 2013 (UTC)

I have now deleted this field. --Kleinzach 12:18, 6 April 2013 (UTC)

Labels

The infobox only gives three of Ma's record labels. For example, it doesn't give DG Deutsche Grammophon, Columbia, EMI, Apex. London, Legacy. Elatus, Lyrita etc. This field is arguably not very useful anyway. Should we delete it? --Kleinzach 11:39, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

Now done. --Kleinzach 12:41, 16 April 2013 (UTC)
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