The David Rubenstein Show: Peer to Peer Conversations

AL MUSIC]

DAVID RUBENSTEIN

WERE THERE MANY WHO SAID, "I WANT TO BE THE LEADING CELLIST IN THE WORLD?"

YO-YO MA

SO IN MUSIC, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS "THIS IS THE GREATEST ANYTHING," BECAUSE IT'S ABOUT LEARNING FOREVER.

DAVID

WHAT ABOUT WHERE YOU PLAY? YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE THERE. I DON'T HAVE TO BE THERE. SO IF WE'RE GONNA SPEND TIME TOGETHER, LET'S MAKE IT COUNT.

WOMAN

WOULD YOU FIX YOUR TIE, PLEASE?

DAVID

WELL, PEOPLE WOULDN'T RECOGNIZE ME IF MY TIE WAS FIXED, BUT OK. JUST LEAVE IT THIS WAY. ALL RIGHT. I DON'T CONSIDER MYSELF A JOURNALIST. AND NOBODY ELSE WOULD CONSIDER MYSELF A JOURNALIST. I BEGAN TO TAKE ON THE LIFE OF BEING AN INTERVIEWER EVEN THOUGH I HAVE A DAY JOB OF RUNNING A PRIVATE EQUITY FIRM. HOW DO YOU DEFINE LEADERSHIP? WHAT IS IT THAT MAKES SOMEBODY TICK? THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR COMING HERE TODAY. WE'RE AT THE KENNEDY CENTER. YOU'VE PLAYED HERE MANY TIMES, I ASSUME?

YO-YO

UM, ONCE OR TWICE.

DAVID

WELL, I'M VERY HONORED TO BE INTERVIEWING YOU, BECAUSE I'M THE CHAIRMAN OF THE KENNEDY CENTER, AND WE GAVE YOU THE KENNEDY CENTER HONORS AT ONE POINT NOT TOO LONG AGO, AND YOU'VE ALSO BEEN THE RECIPIENT OF THE PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM AND EVERY OTHER AWARD ONE CAN GET. YOU'RE TRAVELING AROUND THE COUNTRY, AROUND THE WORLD ALL THE TIME. WHAT DRIVES YOU SO MUCH AT THIS POINT WHEN YOU'RE ALREADY SO SUCCESSFUL? I WANT MY WIFE TO APPROVE OF ME. THAT'S HARD TO DO SOMETIMES. YEAH, THAT COULD BE, YOU KNOW, THE ULTIMATE PRIZE.

YO-YO

WELL, I THINK WHAT PROBABLY DRIVES ME IS I WANT TO BE USEFUL. SO, I PLAY THE CELLO, AND, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE LIKE ME TO PLAY. BUT MAYBE SOMETHING YOU DON'T KNOW IS THAT MY GREAT PASSION THROUGH PLAYING THE CELLO, THROUGH DOING MUSIC, IS THE FACT I'M INCREDIBLY PASSIONATE ABOUT PEOPLE.

DAVID

WELL, I DO KNOW THAT, IN PART, BECAUSE WHEN I FIRST MET YOU, YOU DIDN'T WANT TO SHAKE HANDS. YOU LIKE TO HUG.

YO-YO

SO I'M A HUGGER.

DAVID

YOU'RE A HUGGER, AND SO THAT SHOWS YOU'RE PASSIONATE. WHEN DID YOU ADOPT THE HUGGING TECHNIQUE? DID YOU ALWAYS HAVE THAT?

YO-YO

WELL, IN FRANCE, YOU KISS, RIGHT?

DAVID

OH. SO HUGGING IS--

YO-YO

NO, NO, HUGGING IS JUST LIKE... IT'S--IT'S LESS, RIGHT?

DAVID

RIGHT.

YO-YO

YOU KISS ON BOTH CHEEKS. YOU KNOW, IN THE UNITED STATES, WE SHAKE HANDS. OK. - SO-- SO I DID SOMETHING KIND OF MID-ATLANTIC-ISH.

DAVID

OK, SO YOU ADOPTED THAT, OK. WORKS OUT WELL, AND I'M ALWAYS HAPPY TO BE HUGGED BY YOU. OK, GREAT. YOU WERE BORN IN FRANCE, AND YOU GREW UP THERE FOR A COUPLE YEARS. YOUR NATIVE LANGUAGE WAS MANDARIN OR CHINESE? CHINESE AND FRENCH. YEAH. - AND THEN FRENCH? SO YOU DIDN'T SPEAK ENGLISH WHEN YOU WERE LIVING IN FRANCE. - NO. CAN'T YOU TELL? WELL, IT'S PERFECT.

YO-YO

WELL, YOU KNOW, SOME PEOPLE SAY YES.

DAVID

SO, YOU HAD AN OLDER SISTER AND HAVE AN OLDER SISTER. AND SHE WAS PLAYING THE VIOLIN, AS I UNDERSTAND IT. AND SO YOUR FATHER SAID-- HE WAS A MUSIC TEACHER-- "WHY DON'T YOU PLAY THE VIOLIN AS WELL?" SO WHY DID YOU NOT BECOME A VIOLINIST?

YO-YO

WELL, FIRST OF ALL, MY SISTER PLAYED MUCH BETTER THAN I DID. AND THERE'S ACTUALLY SOMETHING, I THINK, IN EACH PERSON THAT IS INNATE IN TERMS OF THE KINDS OF SOUNDS YOU LIKE. YOU KNOW, UM, SO, FOR EXAMPLE, I SOMEHOW DIDN'T THINK I COULD MAKE A GOOD SOUND ON THE VIOLIN, AND, BUT, SO I DIDN'T PLAY ANY OTHER INSTRUMENT FOR A WHILE UNTIL--I DIDN'T EVEN HEAR THE SOUND OF A DOUBLE BASS, BUT I SAW ONE AND I THOUGHT AS A 4-YEAR-OLD, "THAT'S A BIG, BIG GIANT INSTRUMENT. I WANT TO PLAY IT," AS 4-YEAR-OLDS MIGHT DO.

DAVID

AND THOUGHT--

YO-YO

AND SO I STARTED SAYING, "PLEASE GIVE ME A DOUBLE BASS. I WANT TO PLAY IT." THERE WAS NO DOUBLE BASS I COULD PLAY. CELLO WAS THE NEXT BEST INSTRUMENT.

DAVID

SO YOU STARTED PLAYING, AND DID YOU NOTICE OTHER CHILDREN YOUR AGE WERE OUT PLAYING WHILE YOU WERE PRACTICING, AND DID THAT CONCERN YOU?

YO-YO

WELL, I DIDN'T PRACTICE A LOT. I HAD A FATHER WHO WAS A VERY GIFTED TEACHER AND WHO THOUGHT A LOT ABOUT THINGS, AND ONE OF THE THINGS HE THOUGHT ABOUT WAS EFFICIENT PRACTICING. SO FOR EXAMPLE, THE FIRST PIECE OF MUSIC I PLAYED WAS THIS PIECE.

PLAYING CLASSICAL MUSIC

YO-YO

OK. SOUNDS A LITTLE LIKE... IT'S KIND OF FAST, THERE ARE LOTS OF NOTES, BUT CAN WE MAKE IT SIMPLER?

DAVID

WELL, I'M SURE YOU CAN.

YO-YO

NO, BUT I'M SURE YOU CAN. BECAUSE WHAT'S THE FIRST NOTE? IT'S THIS.

PLAYING LOW NOTE

YO-YO

RIGHT? AND THEN THE SECOND NOTE IS THIS.

PLAYING HIGHER NOTE

YO-YO

AND THE THIRD NOTE IS THIS.

PLAYING HIGHER NOTE

YO-YO

AND THEN THERE'S ONE FOURTH NOTE.

PLAYING LOWER NOTE

YO-YO

OK, NOW THIS IS THE FIRST FOUR NOTES. NOW LET'S LISTEN TO WHAT HAPPENS...

PLAYING FOUR NOTES

YO-YO

FOUR NOTES, AND THEN THE NEXT FOUR NOTES ARE--

PLAYING TWO NOTES TWICE

YO-YO

WAIT A MINUTE. I'VE HEARD THOSE NOTES BEFORE. THAT WAS THE THIRD NOTE, AND THIS WAS THE SECOND NOTE. SO BASICALLY, IF I KNOW HOW TO PLAY THE FIRST FOUR NOTES...

PLAYING FOUR NOTES

YO-YO

IT'S JUST A PERMUTATION OF... TWO OF THOSE NOTES.

DAVID

YOU MAKE IT SOUND EASY, BUT IT'S NOT THAT EASY.

YO-YO

NO, BUT, YOU SEE, ANYBODY CAN DO THAT. WELL... - YOU CAN... WE'LL DO THAT LATER.

DAVID

LET'S GO BACK TO YOUR SITUATION. YOU GO TO NEW YORK. YOUR FATHER IS TRYING TO TALK HIS BROTHER OUT OF MOVING BACK TO CHINA. - YEP. BUT AT THAT TIME, YOUR FATHER SAID, "GEEZ, THIS MIGHT BE A BETTER PLACE FOR MY SON TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY THE CELLO." WHAT HAPPENED WAS THAT IT... BY TOTAL COINCIDENCE, MY SISTER, WHO PLAYED VERY WELL-- VIOLIN, PIANO, AND WE DID A SMALL PERFORMANCE SOMEPLACE IN MANHATTAN ON OUR LAST STOP. AND THIS FRANCO-AMERICAN LADY WHO HAD FOUNDED AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN NEW YORK WAS LOOKING FOR A MUSIC TEACHER, HAD HEARD ABOUT THIS PERSON, DR. MA, AND SAID, "I'M KIND OF INTERESTED." SHE CAME TO THE CONCERT, AND THEN DECIDED ON THE SPOT TO ASK HIM TO TEACH AT HER SCHOOL. AND SO HAD WE NOT MET THIS LADY, WE WOULD HAVE GONE BACK TO FRANCE, AND I WOULD HAVE, YOU KNOW-- YOU MIGHT BE IN PRIVATE EQUITY.

YO-YO

OR I WOULD BE KISSING YOU ON BOTH CHEEKS.

DAVID

YOU HAVE AN UNUSUAL FIRST NAME. AS I UNDERSTAND IT, WHEN YOU WERE BORN, YOUR MOTHER GAVE YOU AND YOUR FATHER GAVE YOU THE NAME ERNEST.

YO-YO

RIGHT. A NICE FRENCH NAME. ABSOLUTELY. SO YOU KNOW HOW THAT HAPPENS.

DAVID

TELL ME THE STORY. I DON'T REMEMBER.

YO-YO

WELL, THIS IS ACTUALLY A CROSS-CULTURAL RESULT BECAUSE THERE ARE MANY, MANY SAINTS AND SAINTS' DAYS IN FRANCE. SO ANYBODY BORN ON A CERTAIN DAY USUALLY, VERY OFTEN, GETS THE NAME OF THAT SAINT DAY. SO I WAS BORN ON OCTOBER 7th, BUT NOVEMBER 7th WAS THE FEAST OF ERNEST. NOW, WHY NOVEMBER 7th? BECAUSE INFANT MORTALITY WAS SO HIGH THAT IN CHINA AND MANY OTHER PLACES, THAT MANY CHILDREN WOULD NOT GET NAMED UNTIL THEY WERE A MONTH OLD.

DAVID

RIGHT. SO, HENCE, ON NOVEMBER 7th, I SURVIVED THE FIRST MONTH. SO YOU BECAME ERNEST. - YEP. AND YOU THINK YOU WOULD BE AS SUCCESSFUL AS YOU HAVE BECOME IF YOUR NAME WAS ERNEST MA?

YO-YO

WELL, I WOULD BE SO MUCH MORE SUCCESSFUL BECAUSE YOU KNOW THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ERNEST (EARNEST.)

DAVID

RIGHT. ABSOLUTELY. SO EXPLAIN TO PEOPLE WHO ARE WATCHING HOW ERNEST BECAME YO, AND THEN YO-YO. THAT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH FAMILY TRADITION, WHICH, UM... MANY FAMILIES HAVE-- AND I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHY THIS HAPPENS, BUT FOR EVERY GENERATION, PEOPLE FROM THAT FAMILY IN THAT GENERATION WOULD SHARE ONE CHARACTER IN COMMON LEGISLATED FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS. AND FOR MY GENERATION, IT WAS "YO." SO MY SISTER'S NAME IS YEOU-CHENG, AND MY NAME IS YO-YO BECAUSE MY PARENTS COULDN'T THINK OF-- ANOTHER NAME, SO THEY JUST-- BUT "YO" MEANS "FRIENDLY" IN-- IT MEANS "FRIEND," YEAH. SO, THEY THOUGHT FRIENDLY-FRIENDLY MA. OK. YOU WERE ALREADY FAIRLY ACCOMPLISHED. NOW, BECAUSE WE'RE IN THE KENNEDY--

YO-YO

DEPENDS ON HOW YOU DEFINE "ACCOMPLISHED."

DAVID

WELL, BY ALMOST ANY NORMAL STANDARDS, YOU WERE ALREADY VERY WELL-KNOWN BECAUSE YOU HAD ALREADY MET PABLO CASALS, WHO MANY PEOPLE CONSIDERED THE GREATEST CELLIST OF THE 20th CENTURY. AT LEAST THE FIRST HALF OF THE 20th CENTURY. HOW DID YOU MEET PABLO CASALS, AND WHAT DID HE THINK OF YOUR PLAYING AS A YOUNG BOY?

YO-YO

WELL, I THINK I WAS TAKEN TO PLAY FOR HIM AT AGE 7, AND I HAVE HIM, YOU KNOW, WRITING SOMETHING IN MY AUTOGRAPH BOOK, AND I PLAYED FOR HIM, AND HE SAID, "MMM, VERY GOOD," AND HE SAYS, "BUT YOU SHOULD ALWAYS ALSO GO PLAY BASEBALL." WHICH WAS VERY INTERESTING, BECAUSE CASALS, AT THAT TIME HE WAS IN HIS UPPER 80s, PROBABLY, AND ONE OF THE THINGS I REMEMBER HIS SAYING, MAYBE IN THAT AUTOBIOGRAPHY OR IN AN INTERVIEW, HE SAID, "YOU KNOW, I THINK OF MYSELF AS "A HUMAN BEING FIRST, A MUSICIAN SECOND, AND A CELLIST THIRD." AND I THOUGHT THAT WAS REALLY INTERESTING BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHERE DO WE PLACE OUR IDENTITY? FOR GUYS, OFTEN IT'S "WHAT DO YOU DO?" RIGHT? "WHAT'S YOUR PROFESSION?" AND--BUT THE FACT THAT HE... YOU KNOW, MOST PEOPLE THINK OF ME AS A CELLIST, AND--BUT THE HUMAN BEING PART, FOR CASALS, WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING, AND THAT WAS SOMETHING I ALWAYS THOUGHT ABOUT.

DAVID

AND HE RECOMMENDED YOU TO LEONARD BERNSTEIN FOR AN EVENT IN WASHINGTON? THERE HAS COME TO US THIS YEAR A YOUNG MAN AGED 7, BEARING THE NAME YO-YO MA. NOW HERE IS A CULTURAL IMAGE FOR YOU TO PONDER AS YOU LISTEN-- A 7-YEAR-OLD CHINESE CELLIST PLAYING OLD FRENCH MUSIC FOR HIS NEW AMERICAN COMPATRIOTS. WELCOME, YO-YO MA AND YEOU-CHENG MA.

APPLAUSE

PLAYING CLASSICAL TUNE

DAVID

YOU PERFORMED AT THE AGE OF 7 IN FRONT OF A LIVE TV AUDIENCE, BUT ALSO PRESIDENT KENNEDY WAS THERE. SO WHAT WAS THAT LIKE? FAIRLY INTIMIDATING?

YO-YO

WELL, WE WERE NEWLY ARRIVED PEOPLE, IMMIGRANTS, AND, SO, I THINK, FOR A 7-YEAR-OLD, YOU KNOW, DID I KNOW EXACTLY WHO PRESIDENT KENNEDY WAS? PROBABLY NOT. DID I KNOW HE WAS AN INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT PERSON? YES. AND DID I THINK ABOUT THIS FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE ABOUT WHO THIS PERSON WAS? ABSOLUTELY.

DAVID

SO, YOU'RE AT JUILLIARD. YOU'RE PLAYING WITH OTHER PEOPLE, AND THEN YOU DECIDE ULTIMATELY TO GO TO COLLEGE AT HARVARD.

YO-YO

THE FIELDS I WAS MOST INTERESTED IN WERE ANTHROPOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY. AND YOU MAY ASK WHY.

DAVID

BECAUSE THEY BOTH START WITH AN "A"? YOU LIKED THE "A"s OR-- - EXACTLY! BEFORE GETTING TO THE "B"s, THERE WAS, YOU KNOW--SO... YOU'RE SO CLEVER! AND SO, THE THING IS, I WAS A VERY CONFUSED CHILD BECAUSE WHEN YOU MOVE, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING-- ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU HOLD TO BE SORT OF SOLID AND TRUE VISUALLY, YOU KNOW, EMOTIONALLY, OFTEN, BUT CERTAINLY IN TERMS OF HABITS AND PEOPLE, IT ALL CHANGES. YOU KNOW, THE RULES ARE DIFFERENT. PEOPLE SAY DIFFERENT THINGS. AND SO IT WAS, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF OUR FRENCH FRIENDS COULDN'T UNDERSTAND WHY WE WOULD MOVE TO THE UNITED STATES. AND CERTAINLY, A LOT OF AMERICANS THOUGHT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE BEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. MY PARENTS KEPT TELLING ME, "CHINESE CULTURE-- SO INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT." SO I WAS KIND OF BEFUDDLED, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, NOBODY CAN BE-- YOU KNOW, NOT EVERYBODY CAN BE RIGHT ALL THE TIME. BUT ANTHROPOLOGY GAVE ME THE WAY OF STUDYING VALUES AND CULTURES THAT WHERE SLIGHT SHIFTS IN VALUES CREATE THE SOCIETY AND BECOMES EXPRESSIVE IN THEIR ARTS, AS WELL AS IN ALL OF THEIR VARIOUS-- WHEN YOU GET TO HARVARD-- - EXPRESSIONS. YOU REALIZE THERE ARE A LOT OF SMART PEOPLE THERE. YEAH. BUT WERE THERE MANY OF 'EM WHO SAID, "I WANT TO BE THE LEADING CELLIST IN THE WORLD"? WERE YOU UNIQUE? THERE WEREN'T THAT MANY CELLISTS IN YOUR CLASS?

YO-YO

I DON'T EVEN KNOW THAT ANYBODY OR, MYSELF INCLUDED, WANTED TO BE SOMETHING LIKE THAT. THERE WAS NOT--I MEAN, ONE THING THAT'S INTERESTING IN MUSIC IS THAT MASTERING AN INSTRUMENT IS THERE TO SERVE THE PURPOSE OF EXPRESSION. AND THE PURPOSE OF DOING SOMETHING IN MUSIC IS TO FIND YOUR VOICE. SO IN MUSIC, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS "THIS IS THE GREATEST ANYTHING," BECAUSE IT'S ABOUT LEARNING FOREVER AND FINDING THE MOST... CONCISE WAY OF EXPRESSING SOMETHING AS PRECISELY AS POSSIBLE.

DAVID

YOU BEGAN A CAREER AS A LEADING CELLIST AND PLAYED FOR SYMPHONIES AND ON YOUR OWN AND SO FORTH. AS YOU'VE DONE THAT, YOU'VE NOW RECORDED, I THINK, 90-SOME ALBUMS OR MAYBE MORE THAN THAT. I DON'T KNOW. - AN ENORMOUS NUMBER. YOU'VE WON 20-SOME GRAMMYS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. SO YOU'VE BECOME THE DOMINANT FIGURE, THE MOST WELL-KNOWN FIGURE IN THE CLASSICAL MUSIC WORLD. SO DOES THAT PUT A LOT OF PRESSURE ON YOU TO PERFORM UP TO THE HIGHEST STANDARD EVERY SINGLE TIME, OR CAN YOU EVER RELAX A LITTLE BIT? YOU KNOW THE PHRASE THAT "YOU'RE ONLY AS GOOD AS YOUR LAST PERFORMANCE," RIGHT? AND SOME OF THAT IS TRUE BECAUSE I THINK WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT... AND I DON'T WANT TO BELITTLE THAT, IS EXTERNAL RECOGNITION AND FACTS. BEING A MUSICIAN IS INTERNAL DEVELOPMENT, IS SORT OF--YOU KNOW, THERE'S A TREMENDOUS EMPHASIS TO SAY-- YOU COLLECT ART. WHAT MAKES ONE PERSON THAT ARTIST AND NOBODY ELSE? RIGHT? WHAT MAKES YOU DAVID RUBENSTEIN AND NOBODY ELSE? WHAT MAKES THE SOUNDS THAT I MAKE ONLY POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF SOME WISH TO HEAR CERTAIN SOUNDS A CERTAIN WAY? AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT I SPEND MY LIFE ON. AND SO WINNING AWARDS IS FABULOUS BECAUSE IT GIVES YOU MORE CHANCES TO DO SOMETHING THAT YOU MIGHT WISH TO DO. YOU KNOW, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT EXTERNAL RECOGNITION VERSUS INTERNAL SATISFACTION AND FULFILLMENT, THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF PLEASURE. RIGHT? AND I THINK THE LEVELS OF DEEP FULFILLMENT-- AND THIS IS WHERE, YOU KNOW-- THE LOOSE TERM I'M GONNA USE-- "CULTURE" COMES ALONG, BECAUSE IF YOU DO THINGS IN ARTS AND SCIENCES IN CULTURE, YOUR WISH IS TO BUILD SOMETHING THAT'S STRONG ENOUGH, A BUILDING BLOCK THAT SOMEONE ELSE CAN BUILD ON TOP OF. TODAY, YOU HAVE A LIFE OF PLAYING AROUND THE WORLD. SO HOW DO YOU PICK WHERE TO GO EVERY YEAR? HOW FAR IN ADVANCE IS YOUR SCHEDULE SET? I REALLY DON'T MIND WHAT I PLAY AND WHERE I PLAY, BUT I CARE ABOUT HOW I PLAY AND WHO I PLAY FOR AND WITH. SO, YOU KNOW, I'VE KIND OF DECIDED EARLY ON THAT WHETHER I PLAY, YOU KNOW, IN NEW YORK OR JAKARTA OR PEORIA OR--DOESN'T MATTER, OR IN WACO, TEXAS, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I CAN DO IS TO BE TOTALLY PRESENT AND TOTALLY ENGAGED. THERE'S NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT. AND SO, IT'S THE FOCUS THAT IS THERE, AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS NOT BEING PRESENT IN THAT I'M DELIVERING A PACKAGE AND HERE'S THE PACKAGE, BUT MORE LIKE SAYING, OK...

PLAYING UPBEAT TUNE

DAVID

IF I PLAY FOR A GROUP OF PEOPLE, WHETHER IT'S KINDERGARTNERS OR INNER-CITY SCHOOL, WHITE HOUSE, IT IS... YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO SAY, WHO YOU'RE SAYING IT TO, BUT THE ONLY THING THAT'S IMPORTANT IS THAT THEY REMEMBER SOMETHING THAT WILL MAKE THEM MAKE-- PERFORM AN ACTION AFTERWARDS, SO IT'S LIVING MATERIAL. DO YOU EVER HAVE THAT PROBLEM THAT YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT ONE THING WHEN YOU'RE PLAYING A PIECE?

YO-YO

WHEN I'M PLAYING, IT'S ABOUT ABSOLUTE CONCENTRATION. NOTHING--

DAVID

YOU DON'T HAVE ANY MENTAL LAPSES? YOU'RE PLAYING--

YO-YO

WELL, I CAN SOMETIMES FEEL MENTAL LAPSES COMING ON.

DAVID

DO YOU EVER FORGET A PIECE? I MEAN, YOU FORGET THE NOTES? FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN YOU PLAY, YOU DON'T USE MUSIC.

YO-YO

I DO SOMETIMES, AND SOMETIMES I DON'T. AND WHAT I TELL PEOPLE IS IF YOU WANT TO MEMORIZE PIECES, DO THAT BEFORE YOU'RE 21 YEARS OLD, BECAUSE WHATEVER YOU LEARN BEFORE 21, YOU REMEMBER FOREVER. AFTER YOU'RE 40, FORGET IT.

DAVID

HARDER. WHAT ABOUT WHERE YOU PLAY? I MEAN, IS THERE ONE MUSIC HALL THAT YOU THINK IS BETTER THAN THE OTHER FOR ACOUSTICS OR YOU'RE-- - SO, AGAIN,

YO-YO

SOME PEOPLE SAY, "OK, THIS IS THE GREATEST HALL, THEREFORE IT MUST BE FANTASTIC TO PLAY." YES, THAT GIVES A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF PLEASURE, BUT THE GREATER PLEASURE IS THE ENERGY IN THE AUDIENCE. AGAIN, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WHO YOU'RE PLAYING FOR. MUSIC, LIVE MUSIC, IS A COMMUNION. YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE THERE. I DON'T HAVE TO BE THERE. SO IF WE'RE GONNA SPEND TIME TOGETHER, LET'S MAKE IT COUNT, BECAUSE IF IT DOESN'T COUNT, IF YOU FORGET WHAT YOU DID TODAY, TOMORROW, AND IF I FORGET WHAT I DID TODAY, TOMORROW, WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF DOING IT?

DAVID

SO YOU OBVIOUSLY MADE A DECISION IN YOUR CAREER TO DO MORE THAN CLASSICAL MUSIC.

YO-YO

MUSIC TO ME IS EXPRESSION OF IDEAS, THOUGHTS, AND FEELINGS, SPATIAL STRUCTURES IN SOUND. I DO NOT THINK OF CLASSICAL MUSIC AS SEPARATE FROM... THE REST OF THE WORLD. I WOULD LIKE TO THINK THAT CLASSICAL MUSIC IS PART OF WORLD MUSIC, WHICH IT IS NOT THOUGHT OF AS WORLD MUSIC, BUT I THINK THAT CLASSICAL MUSIC IS ONE OF THE BEST THINGS THE WORLD HAS INVENTED, AND, SO TO MAKE THAT CATEGORY DIFFERENT REALLY UPSETS ME.

DRUMS BEATING RHYTHMICALLY

YO-YO

WE STARTED AS AN IDEA, A GROUP OF MUSICIANS GETTING TOGETHER AND SEEING WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN.

DAVID

THE SILK ROAD ENSEMBLE AND THE SILK ROAD ENDEAVOR THAT YOU PUT TOGETHER--CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHAT THAT WAS ABOUT AND WHY YOU DID THAT, AND WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO YOU?

YO-YO

WELL, I THINK IT IS A RESPONSE TO THE KINDS OF QUESTIONS YOU ARE ASKING ME ABOUT CLASSICAL MUSIC. SORT OF, YOU KNOW, WAIT A MINUTE, HOW COME... IT'S LIKE I WAS ASKING THOSE SAME QUESTIONS OF MYSELF, AND WHAT I DISCOVERED IN, YOU KNOW, BEGINNING TO FIND SOME ANSWERS THAT FIRST OF ALL, THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS OF EXPRESSION THROUGH SOUND THAT HAVE BEEN--SOME ARE TRADITIONS THAT ARE THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD, AND THERE ARE MANY CLASSICAL MUSICS, AND I THOUGHT THAT CLASSICAL MUSIC IN ITSELF SHOULD ACTUALLY BE ABLE TO-- BECAUSE THAT'S PART OF ITS TRADITION--TO ENCOMPASS A LARGER WORLD, AND BECAUSE ONE THING THAT MUSIC DOES, IT CONNECTS PEOPLE'S CONSCIOUS AND SUBCONSCIOUS. PEOPLE RESPOND TO MUSIC, YOU KNOW, BOTH EMOTIONALLY, BUT ALSO ANALYTICALLY, AND SO IF YOU CAN COMBINE BOTH OF THOSE THINGS IN ONE FORM, YOU CAN GO VERY DEEP INTO COMMUNICATING CONTENT.

DAVID

YOU ARE SEEN AS A SYMBOL OF THE IMPORTANCE OF CULTURE, AND IS THIS AN IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR LIFE AND YOUR LEGACY? WHAT YOU WANT TO DO IS CONVINCE PEOPLE THAT MUSIC AND OTHER KINDS OF ARTISTIC PERFORMANCES ARE VERY VALUABLE FOR SOCIETY?

YO-YO

WELL, IT'S BACK TO THE OLD QUESTION, WHO ARE PEOPLE? WHY DO PEOPLE DO WHAT THEY DO? HOW DO PEOPLE LEARN? WHAT IS THE MEANING OF... WHY WE LIVE? YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING I HAVE TO ACTUALLY-- IT'S NOT A THEORETICAL THING FOR ME, BECAUSE IF I HAVE TO PLAY A PERFORMANCE ON 4 HOURS' SLEEP, AND I HAVE TO LEAVE MY FAMILY 2/3rds OF THE TIME THAT WE'VE HAD CHILDREN GROWING UP--2/3rds! AND I KNOW YOU TRAVEL LIKE CRAZY, MAN. YOU'RE NOT CRAZY, BUT JUST A FIGURE OF SPEECH-- THAT YOU BETTER HAVE A GOOD REASON WHY YOU ARE DOING THAT. SO YOU GET TO THAT EXISTENTIAL LEVEL. YOU HAVE TO CARE. YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE REASONS OF WHY IT'S IMPORTANT. AND AS I GET OLDER AND AS I OBSERVE WHAT YOU'RE DOING, YOU GET MORE AND MORE INVOLVED IN SOCIETAL ISSUES. YOU THINK ABOUT PATRIOTISM. YOU THINK ABOUT CIVILIZATION. YOU THINK ABOUT CIVICNESS--CIVITAS. I THINK SO, TOO, BUT FROM MY ANGLE, FROM, YOU KNOW, PLAYING LITTLE NOTES, SAYING, "WHY SHOULD THAT MATTER WHEN OTHER THINGS ARE GOING ON?" I HAVE TO PROVE IT TO MYSELF, LET ALONE TO THE REST OF SOCIETY, THAT SOMETHING IS WORTHWHILE, THAT MY HUMANITY OR MY PLAYING 3 NOTES ON THE CELLO MEANS SOMETHING.

DAVID

SO I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE FOR THE COUNTRY AND THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE FOR THE WORLD IN BRINGING PEOPLE TO KNOW MUCH MORE ABOUT THE KIND OF MUSIC YOU PERFORM, AND I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THE KENNEDY CENTER'S INVOLVEMENT THAT YOU'VE HAD. YOU HAVE BEEN AN ADVISOR TO THE KENNEDY CENTER. YOU'VE BEEN VERY HELPFUL IN MANY OTHER WAYS. WELL, THANK YOU. ARE YOU READY FOR YOUR CELLO LESSON? I AM. - OK.

PLAYING "TWINKLE, TWINKLE, LITTLE STAR"

YO-YO

THAT'S IT. WOW. - YOU DID IT.

DAVID

GREAT. OK, I'M READY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THAT WAS GREAT.

MAN

BRAVO.

DAVID

OK, THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THAT WAS GREAT.