‘Haydn Seek!’: comedy pianist and Hong Kong Sinfonietta team up for tribute to composer

Pianist Hyung-ki Joo, of musical comedy duo Igudesman & Joo, says his tribute to Joseph Haydn will be fun and ‘accessible to all audiences’

The concert, which will be performed with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, will feature original pieces as well as works by Haydn’s ‘big fans’ Debussy and Ravel

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Hyung-ki Joo performs as half of comedy duo Igudesman & Joo with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta for the 2016 concert “Upbeat!”. Photo: Courtesy of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta

Published: 7:15pm, 13 Sep 2023

For Korean-British pianist Hyung-ki Joo – better known to some as one half of the zany comedy musical duo Igudesman & Joo – classical music should always be performed passionately and with total commitment, but the “whole ceremony around it” doesn’t have to be so serious.

“I never make fun of the music. I have fun with music,” he says.

“Music is about playfulness. When composers are writing music, they are essentially playing with notes.”

The 50-year-old musician is returning to Hong Kong in October to perform works by Joseph Haydn, Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta.

Joo (centre) with the other half of Igudesman & Joo, Russian-German violinist Aleksey Igudesman, and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta for the 2016 concert “Upbeat!”. Photo: Courtesy of the Hong Kong Sinfonietta

Describing Haydn as one of the most underrated geniuses in the classical world, Joo says he wants to draw out and enhance the humorous and theatrical aspects of the Austrian composer’s works and make them more accessible to today’s audiences.