As a jam-packed Memorial Hall erupted into almost aggressive applause, Ma looked as pleased and surprised as if this were the first time anyone had ever clapped for him.
This, however, is certainly not the case. At 45, Ma has long held the international reputation as one of the world's greatest cellists. Based on the audience's raucously enthusiastic response, this reputation is well-deserved.
The cellist visited UNC as the featured performer in the fifth annual Carolina Union Virtuoso Benefit Concert, and Ma's performance consisted of three of the six suites composed by Johann Sebastian Bach for unaccompanied cello.
In short, the performance was beautiful.
When people speak of passionate musicians, they are referring to musicians like Ma. As he sways, grimaces into his scroll, flies up and down the fingerboard and almost leaps out of his chair on accented notes, one realizes that the musical experience with Ma is as visual as it is auditory.
Ma does not play music - he is possessed by it.
His facial expressions range from looks of horrible anguish to the eyes-closed smile of someone in a pleasant dream.
Each movement in the Bach suites became, for Ma, a chapter in a story. He performed each suite as if it were an irresistible drama unfolding.
The cello, a rather awkward-seeming, odd-sized contraption to the untrained eye, seems like a natural extension of Ma's body in his sure-fingered hands.
