THE MUSIC OF STRANGERS--YO-YO MA AND THE SILK ROAD ENSEMBLE Send This Review to a Friend
If you are looking for a sure treat, you can find it by seeing “The Music of Strangers—Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble.” This charming, music-filled documentary directed by Morgan Neville not only provides a portrait of Ma, the great cellist, but of the musicians who travel the world with him and other musicians whom we meet along the way.
I have enjoyed seeing Ma perform at Tangelewood, where the Silk Road concept emerged. But in the film I had the pleasure of getting to know him better, as a musician and also as a person who explains his motivations. There is also a wonderful shot of him performing on the cello as a seven-year-old. I wish there were more scenes of him in his youth.
There is joy in hearing the music of a variety of those shown in addition to Ma’s music. For example we meet Kayhan Kalhor, who plays the kamamcheh, a Persian spiked fiddle, and is passionately dedicated to promoting culture in his native Iran, from which he has had to flee in the light of repression there.
Wu Man is an expert of the pipa, the Chinese lute, and she is dedicated to exploring Chnese folk music. Through her we get to meet the Zhang Fanily Band, the 11th generation descendants devoted to performing shadow-puppet plays. I also especially enjoyed an exuberant Chinese group of jazz musicians who were encountered on the international journey.
One beautiful and dynamic performer is Cristina Pato, who comes from Spain but currently lives in New York. She is a Galician bagpiper, a pianist and educator. Pato is devoted to Galician music, both popular and classical, and she also plays jazz.
In addition to hearing the musical variety, interviews included in the film enable us to get to know the performers and their cultural roots. We also get a view of Ma through comments by his son Nicholas.
Director Neville reveals a strong social conscience by including in the film efforts to assist refugees whose lives have been turned upside down by conditions over which they have no control.
“The Music of Strangers” is rewarding on many levels, including pure listening pleasure, but also the opportunity to learn about different instruments and broadening one’s knowledge of how music plays a role virtually everywhere. A The Orchard release. Reviewed June 10, 2016.
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