Beginner's Mind

Words + Music, Vol. 13

By: Yo-Yo Ma

Narrated by: Yo-Yo Ma

Length: 1 hr and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

“I realize, perhaps for the first time that I had to learn the cello to become a musician, and that it was only through decades of musical exploration that I came to understand my responsibility as a human being.”

Journey with musical virtuoso Yo-Yo Ma as the iconic performer and global phenomenon delves into the world of self-discovery and our deeply interwoven humanity. This is Beginner's Mind, Ma’s extraordinary addition to Audible’s Words + Music series, blending vivid personal memoir and breathtaking exclusive performances with indelible lessons gained over a lifetime pursuing meaning, connection, and shared purpose.

Beginner’s Mind continues Ma’s passionate exploration of culture’s role in helping us to imagine and build a better future, asking each of us “to strip away preconceptions and reclaim a beginner's mind...one open to new questions, new connections, new explorations, and unexpected answers.” As Ma tracks his own profound journey through “four stories of beginnings,” listeners gain insight into his past and discover how the cultural visionary continues to find hope in the endless possibility of human curiosity, creativity, and collaboration.

Beginner’s Mind joins Audible’s ongoing Words + Music series, providing an outlet for musical icons to defy traditional formats with an innovative, and unprecedented approach to musical storytelling and personal expression.

©2021 Yo-Yo Ma (P)2021 Audible Originals LLC

Simply beautifully, deeply humane ...

Listening to Beginner's Mind, is a fertile sanctuary providing reassurance that paths are made by walking and the same is true for human and natural connections that flourish and flower. This will be listened to by me again and again.. beautiful reading and music to carry the stories.

The narratives highlight a reverence for life's unfolding as guided by the returns of being in awe, moved and curious about people, the natural world and the hopes of reducing others' strife - and the power of music and art in all that ties us to each other, nature and the expansion of what sustains a better life for each other.

Regardless of vocation, the concepts resound and reassure the path worth walking. As a physician scientist, the concepts align with 'patient-centredness' which drives everything good in science and healthcare whether qualitative or quantitative - the curiosity, humility and awe of others' experiences and responsiveness to these inform science as a changing, productive and glorious field ... art and music seem kindred in this... in all walks, continually refreshing this listening referential frame of ourselves and other as 'new sandcastles await building each day' are elemental to that which 'binds us together as a human-beings' and I would add to the natural world.

Thank you for this lovely piece of sustenance in life and work.
LAS

Pure enjoyment!

The wisdom and knowledge shared in this book creates one to open up their minds and see the positive possibilities that we can share each and every day to make our world a better and more excepting one. The weaving of the music with the narration was perfect harmony.
Complete enjoyment throughout the book, highly recommend it.

Musical Story of YO YO MA

Love this story of YO YO MA and his life of music. I Strongly recommend!

lovely music, lovely story, and one critique

This is very creative, amazingly inviting, and definitely the first time I've experienced an audio book like this. However, I am bothered by the statement "accidents of history." What does that mean? If we can choose what the future looks like and use ingenuity for positive change and not solely financial gain then we had choices in history just the same. Why is everyone bent on making choices to harm groups of people not so bad as in "it was an accident?" No, it was a choice. Let's start acknowledging that then we can really heal from the trauma inflicted. "I'm sorry for choosing to harm you for my own gain." This is the statement that is needed for the kind of growth and change you are encouraging. Are you sugar coating so that some won't be offended? What do you mean by "accidents of history?"

YO YO MA !¡

loved it, plan to listen again, I downloaded Audible to get this free Performance, Thank you Yo Yo Ma.

Great insight into YoYo Ma's life

YoYo gives an engaging account of his life as a musician and otherwise. The interludes on the cello are enjoyable, as well.

Inspirational!

Loved listening to and getting to know the person, Yoyoma and learning his creative and daring way of living life! So inspirational!

A well spent 60 plus minutes

This recording is a wonderful presentation on what has made Yo Yo Ma the inspiring musician/humanist that he is.

Made me love Ma even more

I am mostly a rock music fan, but Yo-Yo Ma has such broad cross-cultural appeal and is such a towering figure in American music that even if I didn't like his music, I would have listened to this. It is really a very lovely memoir, brief, yet also pretty comprehensive in terms of time span, even if it does not delve into every aspect of his life or his music. Highly recommended.

Beautiful musical memoir from Yo-Yo Ma

This short piece is read (and written) beautifully by the renowned cellist, and interwoven with haunting music. He presents only selected fragments of his life but this feels complete and is well worth hearing.