Richardson — Aleksey Igudesman and Hyung-ki Joo are a piano and violin duo. The two classical music artists are touring with a recital. They will bring this concert to the Eisrmann Center for the Performing Arts in Richardson on Saturday, Jan. 28.
If this all sounds very dry and boring, then you don't know who they are. Let's try again.
Violinist Aleksey Igudesman and Pianist Hyung-ki Joo are two outrageous clowns whose antics have created much hilarity in their classical music pseudo-recitals and in the millions of hits that they get on You Tube every day. Victor Borge may have set the model, but they go way beyond his antics.
Much better.
Their current show is called "A Little Nightmare Music." In a recent conversation, they explained how they make comic magic. The interview was over Skype and both of them were on the screen. Since they finish each other's sentences, I am condensing their answers into one voice. There was much laughter.
TheaterJones: How did you guys meet?
A&J: We met at the age of 12, at the Yehudi Menuhin School, in England, and we have been wreaking havoc ever since.
Where did the idea of doing comedy first come from? Was it something you came up with one night in the dorm?
We sort of did. We were always having fun with our classical music training. Menuhin [one of the world's greatest violinist] encouraged creativity. He was the first to play with" [famous sitarist] Ravi Shankar and to try and expand the boundaries of classical music into other worlds.
Well you certainly do that. Your version of I Will Survive scoffs at boundaries. Where do you get your ideas?
Our ideas really come from anywhere. Could be from a concert we attend but just as likely from waiting for a bus. We are fascinated with the relationship between music and the theater. Our act is basically about mistakes. We are human, believe it or not, and we do make mistakes. It is just that we make an act out of them. Our act is one big mistake.
You are going to be playing in Richardson soon.
We are on tour in some different Texas cities. We are really there just looking for ribs. We hear that here is a lot of meat in Texas.
I know some great places to recommend while you are here. Do you every play regular recitals?
Not really. We concentrate on this. We love to play chamber music and we have done some work in film. We are on a different mission. We hope that our light approach will bring new audiences into the recital and concert hall. On tour, we do workshops wherever we are. These are for children 8 to 88. We have to kick out the 89 year olds. That is a lie. We are passionate about these workshops. We are able to work with musicians, not necessarily professionals, and go beyond the page and the score.
How about appearing with orchestras?
We have a similar show that is with orchestra sand we really enjoy that collaboration. And we are working on a new show that will be called "And Now Mozart."
What will that be like?
Too early to tell, we are thinking about it now. All I can say for sure is that it will have absolutely no Mozart. That might be another lie.
Well, you are very funny.
We don't make fun of the music, we make fun with it. We try not to be elitist with inside jokes, although there are there are some there to be found. But we always have some slapstick overlaid. We don't make jokes that only one person in the audience will find funny, even if he is only 8 years old.
How is the tour going?
It is very successful but touring is a taxing experience. People never leave you alone. And when you check into a hotel, it is always some fancy suite that you have to stay in. You are taken to meals at great restaurants and you just have to eat the food to be nice. There isn't a fitness center in first class airplanes. Just kidding. We are treated royally and we are enjoying every minute. We have so much fun on the road and we love it. Texas, here we come. Let's find some ribs.
◊ Here's that video of I Will Survive, followed by another one that's introduced by a former 007.
