Yo-Yo Ma
H: You were born in Paris, Yo-Yo,
would you say you were raised in a very Chinese family?
Y: I think, what is interesting about my background
is that I received a number of cultures all at the same time.
So I think, I learnt both Chinese and French at the same time
and certainly my parents' immediate cultural perspective
was a Chinese one,
but actually a Chinese one from the time
when they left China that they had kept in their minds,
and so by the time I moved to America it really was,
I think, just I had 3 cultures in my brain at all times.
And some parts would be activated more at one time obviously
when you try and speak the language
that's one form of activation,
but I think also in terms of thinking.
And part of why I think I do the work
I do in music as well as the culture
is probably a result of this early upbringing and certainly,
it was my interest in college as well as in my travels in music.
H: Yo-Yo, I heard you try to avoid being a judge
in musical competitions especially when children are involved,
why is that?
Y: Well, I think that music,
the essence of music is about expression
and is not about competition and so I don't,
I am not ideologically against competition.
I realize we live in a very complex world,
but I just found myself unable to say
that one person should get first prize
and the second person should get second prize.
It just didn't make sense,
it is about going internal, going deep some place
and finding lots of contexts for what you have to say
and make sure that someone can actually get it.
So that process, is to me it's a non-competitive process,
it is a very complex process,
and I realize that you know competitions are extremely useful
in being able to locate talent,
but I think I am just not very good at being a judge.