The idea of a musical comedy was something we had had in mind for many years, but the project ‘Igudesman & Joo: A Little Nightmare Music’ has a history that goes back five years. I can say that this is the most successful project that we have ever done. Aleksey Igudesman Read Quote
It is interesting that our biggest fans are the greatest names of the classical music scene, such as Julian Rachlin, Janine Jansen, Mischa Maisky and Gidon Kremer. They even make guest appearances in our concerts occasionally. Aleksey Igudesman Read Quote
We are fans of Mozart and Beethoven, as well ‘South Park’ and Borat. We believe that we can attract many people who eschew the serious ambiance of concert halls and don’t go to classical music concerts because of such reasons. However, there is a ‘serious humor’ on the stage: funny and ridiculous. That is important! Aleksey Igudesman Read Quote
From the very beginning, I started doing music performances with a lot of theatrical aspects to them, where humor was a part of it but not necessarily had to be. Humor is just another tool to make the palette more rich and interesting for myself and eventually for the public. It’s a great way to break out of convention. Aleksey Igudesman Read Quote
I was able to turn to classical music many people, who saw my programs live and on YouTube, and this is one of the nicest achievements I can have. Aleksey Igudesman Read Quote
For me, personally, the most interesting music comes from the popular sector – from film and pop music – since contemporary classical music got stuck and went into directions where it lost a lot of the public by over-intellectualizing. Aleksey Igudesman Read Quote
Our first show, ‘A Little Nightmare Music,’ encompasses a lot of zany humor with beautiful classical music. Aleksey Igudesman Read Quote
We’ve always dreamt of a TV series and working in film. When we first sat down to seriously write ‘A Little Nightmare Music,’ to write something for TV was our original inspiration. But all the stuff we were writing down is not going to work on stage. We had to rewrite it so it would work on the stage. Aleksey Igudesman Read Quote
Classical music is something that we’re very passionate about, but we always thought it was presented in a stuffy way. Aleksey Igudesman Read Quote
Combining music, theater and comedy is a new and broader form of expression. In certain combinations you can make people laugh one moment, cry the next, and then be astounded by the beauty of the music. Aleksey Igudesman Read Quote
