Role of the Performer, 2 Cello
Role of the Performer
2 Cellos
Biography
2 Cellos is a Croatian cellist duet formed by Luka
Sulic and Stjepan Hauser. The two musicians met in their teens while
attending a master musician class, yet they wouldn’t become famous until 2011. In 2011 the duo released a cover of Michael
Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” on YouTube and received over three million
views in the first two weeks of it being posted. This single video opened many doors for the
due that would fast-track their musical career.
After releasing the “Smooth Criminal” cover, they
signed a record deal with Sony Masterworks and recorded their first album that covered
songs by U2, Coldplay, Nine Inch Nails, Sting, Kings of Leon, Gun’s N Rose’s, Muse,
and Nirvana. That same year, Elton John
saw the “Smooth Criminal” cover and said he had to have them in his band
and on his next world tour. During an
interview with Elton John about the duo, he stated that the two played in such
a harmonious way and were so in sync with each other that they created such a
mesmerizing performance. Elton John was
also amazed by how they were able to win the crowd over so easily during the
world tour. 2 Cellos would open for
Elton John and only play four songs. Now
because the duo were such great performers the audience would give them a
standing ovation after each song. This
amazed Elton John because in all the years he had been playing, he had never
seen such an act of appreciation from the crowd for an opening band. The duo continued to tour internationally
with Elton John for another five years.
During their time touring with Elton John, the duo also made
an appearance on the TV show Glee in season three episode 11 performing their
original hit “Smooth Criminal.”
They also found their way on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Tonight
Show with Jay Leno, Lopez Tonight, The Bachelor, and many other shows. As their musical career continued, they began
collaborating with other bands, such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Queens of
the Stone Age, George Micheal, and Lang Lang.
Unfortunately, the duo amicably decided to split in 2022 due to a
difference in lifestyles. Luka became a
family man with a wife and three children, while Stjepan wanted to travel and
play music around the world. But before
the split, the duo released six albums covering many different bands, such as AC/DC,
Jimi Hendrix, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Radiohead, Avicii, The Beatles, and many
more.
Role of the Performer
2 Cellos is mainly known for performing covers of
classical rock, hip hop, rap, and movie/TV show theme songs, but they also play
classical music with orchestras. By playing
all these different types of music, they create a bridge between classical
music and modern music. They prove that
you don’t have to only like or play one type of music.
In one performance, you can see them playing music by Beethoven
and Mozart creating a calm, peaceful, and romantic atmosphere. Now Luka and Stjepan being cellist would make
one think that this is the only type of music they can play. However, they prove that classical instruments
can be used to play modern music more energetically and chaotically.
When the duo transitions to playing rock or hip-hop music,
they play the cello in a very unorthodox way.
They bang on the string with the bow, stomp their feet, spin the cello
around and bang on the back of it like a drum, pluck the strings like a guitar,
and whip their hair back and forth like an 80’s Hair Metal band (ex: Poison.) This unique style draws the attention of audiences
from all over the world.
Ultimately, 2 Cellos role as performers is to build a
bridge between classical music fans and modern-day music fans. Their unique musical style and performance
help classical fans enjoy more modern music and help modern music fans enjoy older
classical music. They honor and respect
musicians from centuries ago and give it a little modern twist bringing people
of all musical backgrounds and tastes together.
Musical Examples
This first song is a perfect example of the bridge that 2
Cellos makes between classical music and modern music. The original song is “Thunderstruck” by
AC/DC, which is loved all across the world.
Visually, the video shows a Victorian-style theater with its audience all
dressed in Victorian-style clothes. The duo
walks out in the same clothing style and begin to play like it’s a classical performance. The introduction of the song is very typical
of classical music. It has a peaceful
and rich timbre and the melody creates a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere. As the song continues, the tempo speeds up
and the duo starts playing the cellos more aggressively. You see the duo play in their unique style of
smacking the string with the bow, stomping their feet, plucking the strings
like a guitar, and whipping their hair like rock stars. When compared to the original song, the 2 Cello
version seems faster since they are playing all the musical parts with just two
cellos. Which I find very
impressive. As 2 Cellos continues
playing their version of the song, the timbre changes from peaceful and rich to
rich and piercing. The tempo changes
throughout the song but is still generally fast due to the cellos.
This example is the original song that made them
famous. This cover is of Michael Jackson’s
“Smooth Criminal” and starts with the same subtle and quiet
introduction. It then builds up and jumps
right into where the chorus would be. Much
like the previous example, the tempo feels faster than the original song due to
the cellos playing all the musical parts of the song. It is almost as if they are layering each
other’s sound attempting to make the music sound more like a full band. One of the musical effects you can see in the
video is the vibrato when they shake their hands while playing the strings of
the cello. This effect gives the song a
unique sound that modulates the pitch. Much
like the original song, the atmosphere/vibe this song gives is a roller coaster
of subtle and calm to energetic and chaotic making it a very satisfying and
complex song.
Work Cited
Wikipedia Contributors. “2Cellos.” Wikipedia,
Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed 6 Nov. 2024.
Awesome post! I have never heard of 2 cellos before and I can tell I was missing out. I love how the songs have such a rich timber and how they make all the sounds from just those two cellos, it is very impressive! Thank you for enlightening me about their music.
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