Cellist and humanitarian Yo-Yo Ma is known worldwide for his renditions of music ranging from the Bach Cello Suites to Appalachian folk songs. Lesser known, but also famous, are his three cellos, each with its own history of famous owners and performances. His cellos include a 2003 instrument made by Moes & Moes, a 1733 Montagnana cello from Venice, and the 1712 Davidoff Stradivarius, his most storied instrument. 

Antonio Stradavradi is considered to be among the greatest luthiers of all time; his instruments routinely sell for over $1 million. These instruments are often purchased by collectors or museums and loaned to musicians. The Davidoff Stadivarius, played by Yo-Yo Ma, is owned by luxury group LVMH and is estimated to be worth over $3.5 million.

The Davidoff Stradivarius gets its name from Russian cellist Carl Davidoff who was gifted the instrument by Russian cellist and count Matvei Wielhorski in 1870. Wielhorski gifted Davidoff the cello to celebrate his own 70th birthday. Thinking the count to be joking, Davidoff was surprised when the cello arrived at his doorstep the following morning. 

The Davidoff was next owned by English cellist Jacqueline du Pre, who was nineteen when the cello was anonymously gifted to her by Ismena Holland, her godmother. Many of Du Pre’s most famous recordings were made using the Davidoff Stradivarius, including her 1965 recording of Elgar’s famous Cello Concerto in E minor. Du Pre’s career was cut short by a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in 1973, forcing her to stop playing the same year. The cello sat idle until being purchased for Yo-Yo Ma in 1988. 

For Yo-Yo Ma the appeal of the instrument extends beyond its storied past and famous owners. In a foreword to Antonio Stradivari The Cremona Exhibition of 1987 by Charles Beare Ma writes: “The pianissimos float effortlessly. The instrument’s response is instantaneous. The sound can be rich, sensuous or throbbing at every range, yet can also be clear, cultured and pure. Each sound stimulates the player’s imagination…Many instruments sound beautiful in an intimate setting but may lose their quality of sound in the vastness of a concert hall. The Stradivari does not.” 

Yo-Yo Ma’s 1733 Montagnana Cello, built by Venetian luthier Domenico Montagnana and known for its spacious baritone sound, is perhaps most famous for its time spent in the boot of a New York taxi. On October 16, 1999, Yo-Yo Ma exited a taxi leaving his $2.5 million Montagnana cello in the trunk. Realizing his mistake, Ma alerted the New York City Police and Limousine Commission, sparking an afternoon search for the over 200-year-old cello. The cello was recovered, still in its case, when the driver’s shift ended later in the afternoon. A crowd gathered to watch as the cello was returned. 

Before Ma, the Montagnana was owned by American cellist Samuel Mayes, who held principal positions in both the Philadelphia Orchestra and Boston Symphony Orchestra. Like Ma, Mayes was a child prodigy, attending Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music at age 12. 

“The Montagana,” Ma writes in a foreword to Antonio Stradivari The Cremona Exhibition of 1987, “has a robust and earthy sound with complex low overtones. It is an honest instrument, giving back exactly what you put in. Every note needs to be articulated in the left hand with vibrato and perfect intonation, but the player can dig in as much as he or she wants and the instrument always has more to give.”

Ma’s third instrument, a Moes & Moes cello, was built in 2003–more than 200 years after the Montagnana and Stradivarius instruments were finished. Unlike his other cellos, luthiers Peter Moes & Wendela Taylor Moes built this cello specifically for Ma.

Ma can be seen with his Moes & Moes cello at Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration. Due to cold weather, Ma was not actually playing but faking to a recording he had made five days earlier. “Everything would have been out of tune,” Ma said in a 2009 interview with NPR, “We would have had broken strings. Basically, you would have had a very poor, ‘American Idol’ rendition of what, you know, what John Williams had created, which is a beautiful piece of music.” 

All three of Ma’s cellos have spent time in the spotlight. From being featured on the recordings of another acclaimed cellist, to being lost in New York, and “played” at a presidential inauguration, the cellos have compiled a unique list of experiences to be inherited by their next famous owner. 

Yo-Yo Ma will join PBS Chief Arts Correspondent Jeffery Brown for a conservation at Tilles Center on Sunday, April 27 at 3 pm.