Comedy meets classical music as Aleksey Igudesman and Hyung-ki Joo make their first appearance at The Grand 1894 Opera House with “A Little Nightmare Music.” Uniquely combining their talent with comedy and popular culture, this "Delightfully Demented Duo" will present one outstanding performance at 8:00 pm on Saturday, February 4th.

Lynda Guidry interviewed Igudesman and Joo by Skype as they prepared to leave Vienna, Austria for the United States. They talked about their act and said they are eager to perform at The Grand. Listen: MP3 RealPlayer

Igudesman and Joo met at the age of 12 in Eng­land and 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 first ground­break­ing show, “A Lit­tle Night­mare Music”. Since then, they have per­formed internationally with major sym­phony orches­tras and have played on some of the world’s biggest stages and festivals.

Equally com­fort­able per­form­ing in clas­si­cal con­cert halls, as well as in sta­di­ums in front of crowds of 18,000, their uni­fied dream is to make clas­si­cal music more acces­si­ble to a wider and younger audience. To date, their clips on YouTube have gath­ered over 15 mil­lion hits, and they have appeared live on tele­vi­sion in sev­eral coun­tries.

Numerous artists and celebrities (from pianist Emanuel Ax to actor Sir Roger Moore) have proclaimed them “classical music’s comedy champions!” This show is sure to captivate and entertain ─ whether you’re a classical music enthusiast or one "who runs for cover at the mere mention of Mozart."  Here's a sample of their version of Turkish March "A La Turca"- Mozart

Having spent many hours over the years practicing and performing classical music, as well as attending performances of other musicians, Igudesman explains what motivated them to cultivate their act. 

"We both love music, but we also always found a little bit that the atmosphere at concerts these days has become rather stifling.  And we found often, not always, when one goes to a concert it's a little like one goes to a funeral rather than to a celebration of music and of life.  We believe in celebrating the music and we always say 'we don't actually make fun of the music, we make fun with the music'." 

Joo speaks of how technology and the Internet have helped them advance their music and merriment. 

"Much of our popularity and success is thanks to YouTube and the Internet.  Another thing about the Internet is that it helps us connect with our fans."  

They love to interact with fans in their madcap way on Facebook.

Visit Igudesman & Joo to learn more about these remarkably able and entertaining musicians.

Ticket prices start at $18. Call for pricing on Box Seats. Special discounts for group and senior tickets may be available.  For information about this and other performances scheduled, contact The Grand’s box office at 409.765.1894, 800.821.1894, or visit The Grand’s website at www.TheGrand.com.  The theatre is located at 2020 Postoffice Street, in historic downtown Galveston. The Grand 1894 Opera House is recognized as “The Official Opera House of the State of Texas.” All major credit cards accepted.