In 2018, Yo-Yo began a new journey, setting out to perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s six suites for solo cello in one sitting, across 36 locations around the world. The internationally acclaimed cellist will perform The 6 Unaccompanied Cello Suites at the Odeon, marking his first appearance in Greece.

As he approaches his seventh decade, the former child prodigy, who has played for eight US presidents, is thinking about what an older musician brings to his repertoire: “It’s still wishful thinking but maybe I have more tools. These suites are so meaningful. They’re not only companions and friends, but they’ve also been reference points in my life.”

Yo-Yo Ma is one of the most successful instrumentalists with about 90 recordings, 18 of which are Grammy Award winners. “I’ve recorded the Bach suites twice, the last time just before I was 40. Every time I play them, it’s a check-in of what I’ve learned since the last time.” What has he learned? “I’ve learned about trying to make the piece more polyphonic for a single-line instrument. My challenge is how to communicate that and have the listener participate in the illusion of four voices.”

On this musical pilgrimage Yo-Yo Ma unfolds a musical confession, in which neither patterns nor technical perfection are the centre of attention, but rhythm, tension and inner pulse. It is a journey motivated not only by his six-decade relationship with the music, but also by Bach’s ability to speak to our common humanity at a time when our civic conversation is often focused on division. “Bach’s cello suites have been my constant musical companions,” says Yo-Yo Ma. “For almost six decades, they have given me sustenance, comfort, and joy during times of stress, celebration, and loss. What power does this music possess that even today, after three hundred years, it continues to help us navigate through troubled times?”

Audiences now have the chance to experience this spellbinding, unforgettable performance in the iconic setting of the Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens. This concert is one of the unmissable music events.

Suite No.1 in G Major, BWV 1007
Prélude | Allemande | Courante | Sarabande | Menuett I – II | Gigue

Suite No.2 in D Minor, BWV 1008
Prélude | Allemande | Courante | Sarabande | Menuett I – II | Gigue

Suite No.3 in C Major, BWV 1009
Prélude | Allemande | Courante | Sarabande | Bourrée I - II C | Gigue

Suite No.4 in E flat Major, BWV 1010
Praeludium | Allemande | Courante | Sarabande | Bourrée I – II | Gigue

Suite No.5 in C Minor, BWV 1011
Prélude | Allemande | Courante | Sarabande | Gavotte I – II | Gigue

Suite No.6 in D Major, BWV 1012
Prélude | Allemande | Courante | Sarabande | Gavotte I – II | Gigue