Wu Man

The Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts is spending its 20th anniversary season doing what it has always done: bringing Chinese music and performers to Boston audiences. Last Saturday’s concert was one of the foundation’s more interesting, in that the commerce flowed both ways: a program designed by violinist Lynn Chang, contrasting the Chinese-American composer Chen Yi with the American but Asian-influenced composer Lou Harrison. Chen’s music grafts its arresting Eastern sonic surface onto Western formal tension-and-release.

The Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts is spending its 20th anniversary season doing what it has always done: bringing Chinese music and performers to Boston audiences. Last Saturday’s concert was one of the foundation’s more interesting, in that the commerce flowed both ways: a program designed by violinist Lynn Chang, contrasting the Chinese-American composer Chen Yi with the American but Asian-influenced composer Lou Harrison. Chen’s music grafts its arresting Eastern sonic surface onto Western formal tension-and-release.

Yo-Yo Ma, born to Chinese parents in Paris, is cosmopolitan by birthright. He is also cosmopolitan by education. For years now he has used the power of his celebrity to push forward his own frontiers, those of his instrument, the cello, and the art of music that he serves. One of his most ambitious efforts over the past few years has been the Silk Road Project, an investigation of the traditional music from the countries along the ancient silk trading route between Europe and China, as well as an exploration of what contemporary composers from those nations are up to. Ma and members of...

'YO YO PARK," the sign across from Symphony Hall instructed arriving cars. "$20. " This may not have been the official billing of "The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma," but it accurately described the draw for the crowd. The superstar cellist is first among equals in the group, which, on Sunday and Monday, offered Boston two programs of music inspired by the ancient trading route connecting Europe, Central Asia, and China. Ma was just one of the band, leading only via occasional emcee duties or to prompt other players into the spotlight (for example, goading Wu Tong into a virtuoso solo on the sheng, a...

Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble gave a large and enthusiastic audience a 2½-hour multicultural hootenanny in Symphony Hall last night. An ensemble of 14 virtuoso musicians from many lands joined the cellist for a program that presented four kinds of music: authentic folk music from countries along the Silk Road; modern arrangements of folk music for mixtures of Eastern and Western instruments; contemporary composed music with deep roots in...

'YO YO PARK," the sign across from Symphony Hall instructed arriving cars. "$20. " This may not have been the official billing of "The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma," but it accurately described the draw for the crowd. The superstar cellist is first among equals in the group, which, on Sunday and Monday, offered Boston two programs of music inspired by the ancient trading route connecting Europe, Central Asia, and China. Ma was just one of the band, leading only via occasional emcee duties or to prompt other players into the spotlight (for example, goading Wu Tong into a virtuoso solo on...

A true star is a marvel to behold. She transfixes a room simply by her presence. It takes her just a glance to establish her charisma. She turns the finest musicians into her reverent personal retinue. Asha Bhosle, whose 12,000-plus songs have permeated Indian film and pop culture for six decades, did all of this Sunday at the Berklee Performance Center, mesmerizing a sold-out house deep into the night while brushing aside the program's weaker opening performance like lint off her bejeweled sari.

Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble gave a large and enthusiastic audience a 2½-hour multicultural hootenanny in Symphony Hall last night. An ensemble of 14 virtuoso musicians from many lands joined the cellist for a program that presented four kinds of music: authentic folk music from countries along the Silk Road; modern arrangements of folk music for mixtures of Eastern and Western instruments; contemporary composed music with deep roots in...

Yo-Yo Ma, born to Chinese parents in Paris, is cosmopolitan by birthright. He is also cosmopolitan by education. For years now he has used the power of his celebrity to push forward his own frontiers, those of his instrument, the cello, and the art of music that he serves. One of his most ambitious efforts over the past few years has been the Silk Road Project, an investigation of the traditional music from the countries along the ancient silk trading route between Europe and China, as well as an exploration of what contemporary composers from those nations are up to. Ma and...