Which instrument does Yo-Yo Ma play?

Yo-Yo Ma plays the cello. He is one of the world’s best-known cellists, celebrated for performances ranging from Johann Sebastian Bach’s solo suites to contemporary works, film music, and cross-cultural collaborations.

Born in Paris in 1955 to Chinese parents, Ma began studying the cello at age four after initially learning violin and viola. His family moved to New York when he was seven, and he later studied at the Juilliard School and Harvard University. His early appearances as a child prodigy helped launch an unusually broad career, but his reputation rests on much more than virtuoso technique.

The cello is a bowed string instrument held between the player’s knees. It is larger and lower in pitch than the violin and viola, but smaller and higher than the double bass. That range allows it to sound both like a singing voice and a deep supporting instrument. A common mix-up is to identify Ma as a violinist because of his orchestral fame; his signature instrument is the cello, including the celebrated 1733 Montagnana cello known as the “Sleeping Beauty.”