Yo-Yo Ma's impromptu performances for the Greek public

At the ancient Odeon, the American cellist of Chinese descent performed his beloved six Bach suites for cello for 2.5 hours straight in a relaxed manner under the Acropolis, with the audience packing the open-air theatre to the gills. He often addressed himself to the public about the Bach Project, a performance in 36 unique sites of the world that promotes the role of art in uniting people.

The multiple winner of Grammy awards and nearly 90 recordings had stood at Gate 8 at the port of Piraeus on Friday, the day of his arrival, to play Bach like a street musician for the travellers getting on and off the ferries.

On Saturday morning he paid a visit to the new premises on Kolokotroni Street of the street magazine "Schedia", with which the Athens Festival is collaborating this year. He had a cup of coffee at its cafe and played briefly for passers-by, one of whom was given cello string that broke as a gift.

The same day he stopped over at Pnyka, the meeting site of the Athenian assembly by the Acropolis, where he participated in a discussion and listened to musician Martha Frintzila performing and actress and former culture minister Lydia Koniordou read the Funerary Oration of Pericles, recorded by Thucydides. Moving on, Yo-Yo Ma joined Greek musicians at Kypseli Square and performed for the public.

At the end of his performance on Sunday, at the Odeon, Yo-Yo Ma performed with a polyphonic group from Epiros, merging his music with Greek tradition and conveying once again music's ability to bridge cultures.