Lauren Wesley-Smith attends the social media stars’ sold-out performance at the Barbican Centre in London on 14 March
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I’ve been well acquainted with TwoSet Violin’s content over the years, but walking into the concert hall at the Barbican Centre, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The billing of pianist Sophie Druml seemed to promise real musical performance, but with Eddy Chen and Brett Yang so known for their comedy, that surely couldn’t be all?
It certainly wasn’t. After beginning the evening with some violin charades specific to London – taking turns to depict only through violin playing concepts like ‘double decker bus’, ‘London Bridge’, and ‘Tom Holland’ – the real show began.
The Sacrilegious Games manages to incorporate many of the challenges the duo has become known for – like hula-hooping while playing the violin – all while creating a fun narrative that gives the show direction and shape.
There was little barrier between artists and audience, as they frequently asked opinions from the crowd and gave the audience the chance to vote on which violin concertos they’d like to hear movements from. On this evening, the Sibelius and Mendelssohn concertos won by a landslide.
Paganini’s La Campanella was transformed into a journey through music history, recomposed in stylistic versions ranging from ornamented Baroque through to discordant 21st century, and even upbeat K-Pop.
Despite the casualness with which the audience could pipe up and interact during the show, there was absolutely no heckling during the performances, a distinction that was not enforced but was quite naturally felt.
At a time when arts such as classical music – and dare I include opera and ballet – are suggested to be dying forms, the abundance of enthusiastic tweens and teenagers in the audience was a strong indication to the contrary. Many brought their violin cases with them, (no cellists were so bold that I saw), and afterwards a huge queue extended outside the stage door in the hope of meetings and autographs.
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