So I went to see Yo-Yo Ma today. It wasn't a concert. It was a master class. For those not familiar with this performance-specific format: it's basically a lesson between a master and a student(s). But public. The teacher (usually famous) gets up there and teaches some students (usually selected from the best of a certain school/society/whatever) and the public sits back and listens in. At its best, it can be startlingly educational. I mean, you're basically getting a lesson from some master without having to pay full price.

I didn't play for Yo-Yo Ma, of course. The students who played were a quartet and a piano/cello (cello soloist, piano accompaniment) pair. Both did quite well. Mr. Ma (as the program called him) was fairly effusive and almost flowery with his language...effervescent comes close. He was also very good at involving the audience. In fact, this was a master class geared towards the public rather than the music nerds. In that respect, it was very well done. The flip side of that? We got the attack of the cliche/stupid questions. "Do you think or feel the music?" "Do feel that you're always telling a story when you play a piece?" Come on. Charlie Rose asks better questions than that! Aside from those awkward moments, which Mr. Ma handled very well, everything else was fun. He's a funny and bubbly guy (at least he was today). He runs around all over stage, and says things like "well, I'm not a master or anything...I know a couple thing about the cello". (That got a laugh-groan from the entire audience).