The violinists Eddy Chen and Brett Yang arrived in the suburbs of Bangkok recently on a mischievous mission. They had come to record hip-hop videos about Beethoven, Bach and other titans of music as if they were alive today.
“They called me calloused, called me unfeeling,” Chen, dressed as Beethoven, with a gray wig and crimson scarf, rapped in one video. “Can’t let them know what I am concealing.”
It was just another day in the life of Chen and Yang, better known as the comedy duo TwoSet Violin, who have millions of fans for the humor and whimsy they bring to the often very serious world of classical music. Over the past 11 years, they have galvanized a younger generation of musicians and helped dispel their field’s stuffy image.
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Chen and Yang have performed Pachelbel’s Canon in D with rubber chickens, hosted wild composer-themed games of charades and brutally taken down actors pretending to play the violin in movies. They have produced skits about showboating musicians, pushy parents and high-stakes auditions.
Some of classical music’s biggest names have joined in on the fun. Hilary Hahn joined Chen and Yang to perform Paganini caprices while hula-hooping. Ray Chen played a game in which he and the duo imitated violinists like Jascha Heifetz and Anne-Sophie Mutter.
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