Yo-Yo Ma, Zinman
"Barber, Britten Cello Concertos" (CD)

It's been an autumn full of Samuel Barber.  I don't think I've actually had such a high concentration of the American's works as right now. It started last week with his 'School for Scandal' overture, the Piano Concerto and then his 'Adagio for Strings' and now, next week, I'll be playing his cello concerto.

I couldn't recall if I'd ever really sat down and listened to the piece, so I made the deliberate effort yesterday and I think I'll find it to be a more fun, accessible work than the piano concerto.
Yo-Yo's recordings are always benchmarks for the repertoire (for better or worse) and this recording with David Zinman and the Baltimore Symphony is no exception.

What I want to know is: does Yo-Yo slave over this music when he's learning it, or does he just pick it up and play it with the same effortlessness that he displays in performance?