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  • Die Rettung der Welt – Tour

schrift_upbeat_neu

Upbeat

Raise your batons!

The utterly uproarious virtuosos violinist Aleksey Igudesman and pianist Hyung-Ki Joo are at it again with their delightfully daft orchestral show “UpBeat.” A follow up to their “BIG Nightmare Music,” “UpBeat” takes audiences on a madcap musical ride with stops at every conceivable genre from Ravel to rock, from hip-hop beats to would you believe tee-hee-hees. The show makes its US debut on March 3, 2016, when the Seattle Symphony Orchestra plays straight man to Igudesman & Joo.
 
The words “strike up the band”—or in this case orchestra—never had a more deliciously raucous meaning than when they signal the appearance of the pair, who do double duty as both conductors and soloists throughout “Upbeat.” Of course this being Igudesman & Joo, a baton quickly turns into “a weapon of mass conduction,” and the tug-of-war over who gets to give the initial upbeat has the concert off to a tumultuous start.

The orchestral merry-go-round span “Ring in the Classics,” Igudesman & Joo’s symphonic Nokia ringtone poem commissioned by the New York Philharmonic; “Winter Polka,” an epic exercise in coughing; “Horror Movie,” a brilliant paean to the creaky and crackling, the squeaks and squeals, sounds that frighten the living daylights out of filmgoers; “An Austrian in America” commissioned by the Pittsburg Symphony to honor its conductor Manfred Honeck…or at least they hoped it would; loop-the-loop with “Ride of the Oy Veykyries,” a lively, klezmer-infused version of Wagner’s most famous piece sure to have the grim German spinning in his grave;  “Rush Hour” where a Moscow traffic jam provides fodder; “You Just Have to Laugh,” a kaleidoscope of chuckles, guffaws, and ha-ha-has where the entire philharmonic gets the giggles singing along with the audience; and, as if Greece didn’t have enough woes, Igudesman tries his best to help the beleaguered country out in a schizophrenic finale “Zorba the Geek.” 

What others say

Since our first encounter with I&J in 2011, we (the musicians & staff of the Taiwan Philharmonic) had been longing for being part of the birth of the  “Scary Concert”.  From the perfect preparation of the music scores to the super efficient rehearsals, I&J not only inspired our musicians to be more creative in performances but also bounded them with our audience even tighter.  Right after the concerts, we received many inquires about when I&J will be back for another new project …. yes, from both orchestra musicians and audience.  The  Scary Concert is the healing concert for both audience and musicians in this stiflingly busy city life.

Joyce Chiou
Executive Director, Taiwan Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO)

“Alek­sey Igudes­man and Hyung-ki 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 
usi­cians, great fun.”

Bernard Haitink
Conductor

Next Dates for Upbeat

No shows booked for this tour at the moment.

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