Cellist Yo-Yo Ma Receives Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal

The GRAMMY-award winner is now the third cellist in history to receive the prize

First presented in 1871, the Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) Gold Medal is awarded for outstanding musicianship to the finest musicians of any nationality. 

Internationally renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma has become the third cellist in history to receive the medal, following Pablo Casals in 1912 and Mstislav Rostropovich in 1970.

Bearing the image of Beethoven, who held a close relationship with RPS which commissioned his Ninth Symphony, Ma was recently presented the medal ahead of his recital with pianist Kathryn Stott. The presentation was given by RPS Chair Angela Dixon, with RPS Chief Executive James Murphy.

RPS Gold Medal recipients are chosen by the Board and Council of the RPS, and annually approved by RPS Members. 

Prior recipients of the prize have included Brahms, Elgar, Sibelius, Stravinsky, Britten, Bernstein, Messiaen, Boulez, Ligeti, Kathleen Ferrier, and more recently Argerich, Barenboim, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Thomas Adès, and Arvo Pärt.

“Yo-Yo, on behalf of audiences worldwide, the Board and Council of the Royal Philharmonic Society would like to thank you for the extraordinary musical gifts you have given us all,” Dixon said in the press release. “Few artists have done as much in our lifetime to rouse interest in classical music on a global scale, and to illuminate music’s purpose, power and potential in our lives.

“You set a gold standard in your musicianship,” she continued. “You are a generous collaborator and commissioner, lowering drawbridges to classical music, presenting it as a fresh, playful force. You’re an exemplar to your fellow musicians, demonstrating how music can be a passport to limitless horizons. This is evident across your extraordinary discography of more than a hundred albums, charting so much terrain. It’s also at the heart of your intrepid ventures like the Silkroad collective, the Bach Project, and lately Our Common Nature, each distinctly connecting cultures and communities through music. In endeavors like these, and your dedicated humanitarian work with the United Nations and beyond, we see music as a catalyst for conversation and understanding.

“UK audiences are always so exhilarated to hear you,” Dixon added. “Please keep coming back. With great admiration and gratitude, it is my pleasure to award you the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal.”