The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma & the Silk Road Ensemble

To make my biases plain, I love Yo-Yo Ma. I love watching him play Bach or Beethoven. I love watching him play modern bluegrass, and I love watching him play world music. So, naturally I love this film. But even though Yo-Yo is a focus of the film, he is not the only focus. The film tells the stories of musicians from many cultures, often in exile and returning to their homelands. It is about an adventure in cultural and musical exploration. Makes me want to go out and find strangers from other cultures and see what we might do together.

Few can argue that Yo Yo Ma is one of the greatest musicians alive. He has inspiredmillions with his exquisite cello for decades. But less known is his quest to understand the roleof music as a universal language that unifies cultures and uplifts them. His vision and belief inbringing world musicians together, many from serious conflict zones, like Syria and Iran toexplore what they could create to express their own culture - together - is inspirational. The musicis beautiful, the insights into different cultural experiences are moving. Do not miss this gem.

What an awesome journey; an odyssey. It is bursting with significance and meanings that aren’t always necessarily evident, striking you with their full value after you’ve moved on. For a man whose music I have not followed, YoYo Ma has touched my life several times, unsolicited... unless need is the solicitation and I thank all of these people for their caringvsndvsharing.

Just excellent. I tried to not get caught up in the philosophical musings since, early in the film, it was plain that they were the musings of individual musicians in the group. I listened to them, I just didn’t let them engage my mind and take it away from the extraordinary music. Music lovers, this is a must. I’ll be watching this again.

No words can describe how much I love this film. It speaks to the longing and tragedy related to cultural identity, home, political identity and the preservation and evolution of the human spirit in the context of music. Just an amazing treatment of all these subjects and done with so much heart.

Yo-Yo Ma found out what can happen when you put incredibly talented and creative musicians together who come from diverse cultures and political environments and document their collaboration. Best line to me was, "no one remembers who was king when Beethoven was alive". There is indeed possibility and hope in the world through art!

A must see documentary especially for those with no background about the ancient cultures and their lasting connections thorough the Silk Road.Thank you Maestro Yo Yo Ma and your amazing ensemble.

Marvelous! I was lucky enough to grow up with world music and learned to play a few "different " instruments. In this culture, I was not allowed to continue. People thought my music and I were strange, I can no longer play, but I can certainly enjoy and praise these musicians.Thank you

Es un documental hermoso, tanto musical como filosóficamente

arrived in brand new condition..thank youAbsolutely LOVE this documentary...Yoyo Ma and the Silk Road ensemble have made a truly wonderful documentary....Very honest Interviews with Yoyo Ma and other musicians, how the Silk Road ensemble came to be...For any musician who especially loves ' global music'....A must for any high school music library....!every High school music teacher, ethics teacher...psychology teacher should make a point of showing and sharing this documentaryMaking the world a kinder, more accepting place through music...playing, loving music, and sharing musical styles , culture...and friendship through music....it is a beautiful film....have already order 5 more copies to give to friends as gifts....

Fantastico documental de este fenomenal proyecto , lastima que no trae subtitulos en español , pero el leguaje musical es universal y rompe todas las fronteras , super recomendable

I borrowed this DVD from the local library and liked the way Yo-Yo Ma made his "Silk Road" idea come true. The stories and music are really interesting. It is a great addition to my DVD collection.

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