Australian Story on ABC – Meet the violin virtuosos from Brisbane shaking up the classical music world with their unique brand of online comedy.
Brett Yang and Eddy Chen met as teenagers in maths tutoring and bonded over their shared love of playing violin.
Dedicated and talented, they dreamed of becoming soloists but eventually they went against family expectations and the straitjacket of the classical music world.
Blending their performance talents with goofy humour, the pair named themselves TwoSet Violin and began to make videos for YouTube, inspired by their own experiences as musicians.
“We’re not deliberately setting out to break the rules like a rebellious teenager. Our mission is kind of to be that gateway that brings people into the world of classical music in a more fun, relaxed and entertaining way,” Eddy says.
They’ve struck a chord, amassing millions of social media followers on YouTube and other platforms and gaining billions of views.
“Most top-of-the-game classical musicians would be green with envy as to their reach. I think TwoSet really have played a huge part in bringing a huge new audience to classical music,” says Vanessa Hughes from ABC Classic FM.
They’ve even persuaded one of the world’s greatest violinists, American Hilary Hahn, to collaborate.
“They are very good violinists. You can’t use humour about a very specific craft unless you know everything about it, it just wouldn’t work,” Hilary tells Australian Story.
“I just really loved seeing everything that they were making.”
Brett and Eddy are currently in the midst of their second world tour, selling out prestigious venues in London, New York, Berlin, to name a few.
“I tell my past self, thanks for taking the risk and just going for it,” says Brett. “Whatever happens, you’re going to have the ride of a lifetime.”
Producer: Rebecca Armstrong
Australian Story on ABC and ABC iview – Monday 13 November, 2023 at 8:00pm
Media Release – ABC
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Australian Story on ABC
