A comedy show by The MozART group from Poland was staged last Sunday at the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing. The Chamber Group is an internet sensation with over 10 million views of their Youtube videos.
This is not how most people play the violin. But for the MozART group from Poland it's business as usual.
The group is named after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the master composers of the classical era. But they treat their muse with a humorous irony. The group has won international acclaim and is an old friend of China and of the Forbidden City Concert Hall in particular.
The musicians of the group are well-educated instrumentalists who graduated from prestigious Academies of Music in Poland, but they decided to add a humorous and personal touch to their music.
The group tries to make the music the source of joy for the audience. They take classical music as the canvas and infuse it with drama, mimes and humor, giving wave after wave of laughter and surprises to the audience.
The show on Sunday reached its climax with a Michael Jackson parody set to his hit single 'Beat it'.
The group is a frequent guest on TV shows and is frequently featured at international galas and concerts. They are also winners of a host of comedy awards in Europe.
The musicians see themselves as bringing together classical music, pop and comedy, spheres that otherwise rarely overlap on the cultural scene.
Now this is the group's third time in Beijing. They are currently on a tour that started in January and will move on to Canada and the US with their humorous rendition of classical music.