Formed in 2000 by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, this collective was originally designed to explore music from the titular trade route in Eurasia, presenting traditional and newly composed pieces from countries like China, Azerbaijan, and Turkey on their own and in dialogue with standard classical repertoire. The scope of the project, which employed more than 50 top-flight classical and folk musicians in its first two decades, has continually expanded, blending music from all around the globe—whether new works by Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov and Lebanese oudist Rabih Abou-Khalil, or vintage American folk and blues—within a western framework.