Yo-Yo Ma, the world's most famous living cellist, could not have planned a more dramatic and nail-biting performance in New York City yesterday.
And an array of New Yorkers, including a phalanx of police officers and city officials and a cabdriver in Queens, could not have composed a more gracious reception: the safe return of his $2.5 million cello.
It was 1 P.M. when Mr. Ma, still exhausted from playing at Carnegie Hall on Friday night, got into a yellow cab at 86th Street and Central Park West, putting his 18th-century cello in the trunk.
But 18 minutes later, when he got out at the Peninsula Hotel on 55th Street, he forgot the cello.
''I made a stupid mistake,'' he said later at a news briefing on the steps of the Peninsula Hotel, ''and I just left without it.''
What followed -- an all-points search for the rare instrument -- was more Hollywood than Haydn.
All the thunderstruck musician had was the receipt for his ride, which had the taxi's medallion number on it, which he gave to hotel security officers.
They alerted the Midtown North precinct on West 54th Street, which put out an all-points bulletin to patrol cars around the city to hunt for the taxi. It also contacted the Mayor's office, which in turn called the Taxi and Limousine Commission.
The commission sent its inspectors on the road to find the taxi.
Close to 3:30 P.M., the 108th Precinct in Long Island City, Queens, sent a patrol car to the taxi's home base, the Maria Cab Company on 44-07 Vernon Boulevard.
It just so happened that the taxi driver, Dishashi Lukumwena, was getting off work at 4 P.M.
With worried police officers and curious taxi drivers standing by, he opened his trunk. There was the rare instrument, in its oversize blue plastic case.
The Venetian cello, known as the Montagnana, was made in 1733 by Antonio Stradivari. Mr. Ma had instrument makers in London and Paris restore the bridge and the tailpiece of the cello, known for its spacious baritone sound.
As he said in February: ''I always felt a little bad putting the Strad under all this pressure, souped up for maximum horsepower. You're always trying to find the right way to make an instrument sing.''
Mr. Ma was the one singing yesterday, when the police called him at 4:15 to say that they had retrieved the cello safely, clearing the way for Mr. Ma's planned performance last night at the Anchorage, under the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn.
And awaiting it eagerly, he was not alone. By 4:30 P.M., the Midtown North precinct was abuzz with television news crews. ''They have the cello,'' one reporter called out, as a police officer carried in the large case with its delicate cargo.
Meanwhile, a worried-looking Mr. Ma sat in the reception area of the Peninsula Hotel, wearing blue corduroys and a sweater and talking on a cellular phone.
Outside, the growing crowd was worthy of a Presidential motorcade. A horde of reporters, police officers, hotel security staff and gawking passers-by jammed 55th Street, with cars spilling into the intersection of Fifth Avenue.
''Who's coming?'' asked one woman, rolling down the window of her white Mercedes.
''The cello,'' someone in the crowd yelled back.
As Lieut. Keith Green carried the instrument out of a black police sedan, Mr. Ma addressed the crowd: ''I thought music was the glue that brought people together. But today, I think we are seeing some good examples of teamwork.''
He then thanked the rescuers.
When asked why such a famous musician was taking a mundane yellow cab, he responded: ''I'm like a regular person. I like to hear Jackie Mason tell me what to do.''
But Mr. Ma's sound is far more eloquent than the taped messages that plague New Yorkers.
One fan, Joan Bowden, who happened to be passing through the crowd, said: ''I've heard him play. It
will bring tears to your eyes.''
Photo: Yo-Yo Ma was reunited with his $2.5 million cello yesterday after he left it in the trunk of a cab. The police tracked it down a few hours later. (George M. Gutierrez for The New York Times)(pg. 44)