Traditions & Transformations: Sounds of Silk Road Chicago

"How far the Silk Road project has really succeeded - with anything like consistency - in uniting disparate musical traditions is a matter for debate. What is surely undeniable is that all their recordings have, at the very least, been stimulating, engaging and challenging. This new recording is no exception."
(MusicWeb July 2008)

This unique celebration, partnering Ma's Silk Road Project with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and dozens of cultural institutions throughout the city from June 2006 through June 2007, was an unprecedented adventure in discovery that moved a city to learn and explore musical traditions and cross-cultural connections, inspired by both the legendary Silk Road trade route and an unending spirit of curiosity.

Traditions and Transformations: Sounds of Silk Road Chicago on CSO Resound is an aural record of this remarkable journey, featuring a rich tapestry of musical works and passionate, virtuosic performances by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the Silk Road Ensemble, Pipa soloist Wu Man, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Miguel Harth-Bedoya and Alan Gilbert.

Yo-Yo Ma is a hugely important classical figure not only due to his prodigious Cello talent, but also because of his music direction. He is CEO of the not-for-profit organization "Silk Road Project" and this recording is the result of the organizations achievements. A hugely important release from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. An ensemble consistently hailed as one of the finest international orchestras in the world.