The NYPD turned a sour note into sweet music for Yo-Yo Ma – pulling out all the stops to track down a $2.5 million cello he left in the trunk of a cab.
“Something magic happened,” the Boston-based virtuoso said after cops delivered the 1733 Venetian Montagnana to his hotel in time for an evening recital. “I love New York.”
Exhausted from a concert at Carnegie Hall, 43-year-old Ma left his prized instrument behind when he got out of a yellow taxi at the Peninsula Hotel just after 1 p.m. yesterday. As the cab pulled away, he realized with horror what had happened.
Fortunately, he had taken a receipt from the driver, so he had the medallion number, and hotel staff called the cops. Lt. Keith Green alerted the Taxi and Limousine Commission, and they tracked the cab to Yellow Management Corp. on Vernon Boulevard in Queens.
Manager John Arnis said the driver, Disashi Lucumwena, didn’t have a radio, so other cabbies were told to be on the lookout. The NYPD put the medallion number over the airwaves, so every patrol car in the city was looking for the taxi.
When the driver rolled into the garage at about 4 p.m., he didn’t even realize he was still carrying precious cargo in the trunk.
Ma, who was due to play at 6p.m. in the anchorage of the Brooklyn Bridge, was overjoyed when he got the news his cello had been found. The beaming musician thanked New York’s Finest.
“I need to give all of them a big hug,” he said.
While Ma thanked cops, City Hall apparently wasn’t thrilled at playing second fiddle. On hearing about the cello’s recovery, Mayor Giuliani’s press office went ballistic, demanding to know why Hizzoner wasn’t going to be the one to return it to Ma, sources said. A spokesman denied any friction.