| Igudesman & Joo | |
|---|---|
| Website | |
| http://www.igudesmanandjoo.com |
Igudesman & Joo is a duo comprising classical musicians, Aleksey Igudesman and Richard Hyung-ki Joo, whose shows combine comedy with classical music and popular culture. They aim to make classical music accessible to a wider and younger audience.
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Aleksey and Hyung-ki met at the age of twelve, at the Yehudi Menuhin School, in England, and since then, have remained strong friends and writing partners. In 2004, following in the footsteps of luminaries such as Victor Borge and Dudley Moore, they created their show, "A Little Nightmare Music". Since then, they have performed with major symphony orchestras around the world and have played at some of the world's biggest stages and festivals.[1]
Many of classical music's biggest names, such as Emanuel Ax, Janine Jansen, Gidon Kremer, Mischa Maisky, Viktoria Mullova, and Julian Rachlin, have joined them in their musical sketches, and recently, they performed for one of classical music's greatest conductors, Bernard Haitink, who thereafter said, "Igudesman and Joo played at my 80th birthday celebrations. I nearly died laughing. I'd like to invite them back for my 85th, but that might be considered reckless...Great musicians, great fun."
Their performances reach well outside of the classical field and in 2008 they toured Europe with legends of the pop world such as Robin Gibb (Bee Gees), Midge Ure (Ultravox), co-creator of Live Aid and Band Aid, Tears for Fears, Simple Minds, and Kim Wilde. Igudesman and Joo have also collaborated with the actor Roger Moore on several occasions for UNICEF.
Their project together with Gidon Kremer and Kremerata Baltica named “Being Gidon Kremer” premiered in 2008 and was performed in Schleswig Holstein and Rheingau Musik Festival as well as in Asia, Europe and Russia.
A Little Nightmare Music” has received much acclaim by critics and audiences alike. It has taken them all over the world, including Verbier Festival, Bergen Festival, Yehudi Menuhin Festival in Gstaat, Lockenhaus, Saratoga Festival, New York and festivals run by Renault Capucon and Yuri Bashmet.
On YouTube their clips have been watched over 18 million times, to date.[2] A one hour version of an early performance in the Vienna Musikverein of “A Little Nightmare Music” is available on their homepage.
The duo has received positive reviews from musicians and entertainers alike. Among them are Terry Jones, Sir Roger Moore, violinist Gidon Kremer, violinist Julian Rachlin, and cellist Mischa Maisky.
Igudesman & Joo also have a show which they do with symphony and chamber orchestras, called “A BIG Nightmare Music”.
They are currently writing on a TV series, mixing classical music with humour.