UPBEAT
Igudesman & Joo with the
Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestra
Conservatory Concert Hall
Saturday (17 November 2018 )
This review was published by The Straits Times on 19 November 2018 with the title "Fun with comical and classical mash-ups."
The
musical comedy duo of violinist Aleksey Igudesman and pianist Hyung-ki Joo have
been delighting audiences, live and on YouTube, for years. Coming across much
better in the flesh, their two-hour-long gig was enhanced by the connivance of
the excellent and totally sporting Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestra.
Musical
jokes tend to be a little too sophisticated for casual audiences, more often
suited for cued-in listeners than being outrightly hilarious. Igudesman and Joo
however found a happy medium by adding a little slapstick to their schtick but
stuck to being seriously good musicians.
Whoever
thought they could both sing or conduct? They took turns leading the orchestra
in An Austrian In America. The 5-movement spiel was to mash up classical
tunes by Austrian greats with American standards. The Overture saw Strauss’ Die
Fledermaus Overture mixed with Old Folks At Home, Simple Gifts
and Yankee Doodle. Schubert Loves America muddied Die Forelle
(The Trout) with, well, America
Oh
My Darling Johann Strauss had Wiener Blut
bloodied with Clementine, sounding like La Valse gone horribly
wrong. And no prizes of guessing what melodies got marching orders in Stars
And Radetzky Forever. The audience also got their spot of synchronised
clapping.
Speaking
of audiences, there was a send-up to their bronchial members in the form of a
concerto for coughing violinist. The soloist did not get to play a single note,
but his respiratory affliction soon infected the conductor, orchestra and
audience, resulting in a ca-cough-phonous conclusion.
“And
a piece by Rachmaninov,” announced Igudesman, and that was the entire 1st
movement of the Second Piano Concerto. After its sonorous opening
chords, Joo showed that the first few minutes could easily be faked as the
orchestra’s tutti soared with the big tune. As it turned out, he could also
play the tricky solo bits as well, and fairly convincing too.
Among
the best spoofs was the baiting of Richard Wagner, the vilest anti-Semite among
composers. The idea of turning his Ride Of The Valkyries and Bridal
Chorus from Lohengrin into a riot of Klezmer and Kalinka was
a brilliant riposte to the boor of Bayreuth
In
the same vein were uproarious orchestrations of that pesky Nokia ringtone
(originally a waltz for guitar by Tarrega) in the styles of Mozart, Brahms,
Schoenberg and culminating in a battle between conductors where Beethoven,
Tchaikovsky, Ravel and Dvorak tussled for the right to conclude the work.
Beethoven (his Ninth Symphony) won.
There
was even a spot for young Singaporean guitarist Kevin Loh to share the
limelight, alongside original compositions by the duo. The fun had to end
sometime, and it was to the strains of Zorba The Greek, Sabre Dance
and Chariots Of Fire. It should be concluded that Igudesman & Joo
are the best comedians among musicians, and the best musicians among
comedians.
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| Darth Voyder sticks it up to Richard Wagner, "Up yours, goy!" |
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