Toronto Symphony Orchestra: TwoSet Violin | Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Steven Reinecke, conductor. November 5, 2025, Roy Thomson Hall.
A Letter to Eddy Chen and Brett Yang of Twoset Violin
Dear Eddy & Brett,
Over 4.3 million YouTube subscribers, 9.5 million followers across social media platforms with over 1.5 billion views. These astounding numbers make you the rockstars of the classical music world. Even though I’m admittedly not part of the young and hip crowd you appeal to, when I heard you were coming to Toronto as part of your 2025-26 World Tour, I had to see for myself what the hype is all about.
I can’t help thinking about how serendipity brought you two together as Twoset Violin. You were both born in Taiwan, in the same month just a year apart. Your families immigrated first to New Zealand, and eventually settled in Brisbane, Australia. You attended the same math tutoring class, played in the same youth orchestra and even went to the same conservatory to study the violin. I guess it was all meant to be.
The house program had a one-liner “Program to be announced from the stage.” I expected lots of surprises and eagerly awaited to see what tricks you had up your sleeves.
The Concert
I was glad that even though Eddy overslept and Brett thought the concert was tomorrow, you both made it to Roy Thomson Hall in record time. While waiting, the half-sized Toronto Symphony Orchestra treated us to the overture to Mozart’s Magic Flute. And who better to conduct this concert than TSO Principal Pops Conductor Steven Reineke?
It’s hard to believe your duo has been at this since 2013. Now that you’re both in your early 30s, you seem ageless and still look like two fresh-faced new university grads, with an infectious smile and an endearing Aussie accent.
I think I can speak for everyone in the audience that we all appreciated the quintessentially Canadian references like Tim Hortons and maple syrup you made in your musical charades game. At the mention of the Toronto Blue Jays, Eddy brought the house down when he quipped “Oh, even I know about what happened!”
The Sacrilegious Games
The Sacrilegious Games was a clever pop culture nod to the wildly popular TV show Squid Games. You really nailed the game in which you had to play Paganini’s La Campanella in six different styles — Baroque, Classical, Romantic, 20th century and jazz. I adored the romantic version which sounded like a sweeping Hollywood movie theme, but when you went into full K-pop mode, you had us all in stitches.
Of course, no TSV concert would be complete without involving the famous, almighty Ling Ling, I wonder if she still practices 40 hours a day? The Ling Ling Workout was a series of antics that ranged from funny to plain silly.
Playing Por una Cabeza and Paganini’s Caprice No. 24 while bouncing a ping pong ball, doing hula hoops, and playing the violin like a cello, with two bows on one violin or bows between the legs — your diehard fans would have already seen these acrobatic moves over and over again on YouTube. I’m afraid they all felt too predictable and didn’t provide what the Gamemaster called “shock value.”
The same went for the many jokes. You could clearly tell the TSV fans in the audience apart — they were the ones who, as if on cue, laughed hysterically at every inside joke about perfect pitch, Tiger Mom and the viola, even though these have all been recycled from your previous videos.
I’d like to think that Toronto audiences are a sophisticated bunch. We don’t need a beginner Classical Music 101 lesson on Vivaldi’s Four Seasons or Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee. Your hit parade of the ultra famous classical music pieces missed the mark in terms of programming. We want to be inspired and challenged, so please introduce us to pieces that are less familiar, so we can broaden our musical horizon.
That is not to say I didn’t enjoy the concert. It was obvious that everyone around me did. They applauded and cheered loudly as if we were at a rock concert. You certainly deserved to be crowned champion of the Sacrilegious Games.
Brainrot
After seeing some Gen Z kids display a myriad of inexplicable, bizarre symptoms, it was a relief to finally understand what they have is Brainrot. It was even better news to learn that it is curable by playing and listening to classical music. Your Anti-brainrot concerto was another brilliant idea, even though some of the memes were lost on me.
Theatrics aside, I was pleased to finally see your different side as a serious musician. There was good musicality from Eddy’s Sibelius and Brett’s Tchaikovsky violin concertos, even when some high notes sounded shrieky. The two pieces for double violins you played together, Sarasate’s Navarra and Handel’s Passacaglia, gave substance to the concert and showcased your virtuosity.
Final Thoughts
The TSO was in its usual excellent form, and I’m amazed how the concert was so well put together with only a single 2.5 hour practice earlier that same day.
It is clear that few can marry comedy with classical music the way you do. You’ve succeeded in making classical music accessible, in a way that is sexy and sacrilegious at the same time. I am eager to see how TSV evolves and matures. Please come back to Toronto again soon.
Until next time, GO PRACTICE!!
Are you looking to promote an event? Have a news tip? Need to know the best events happening this weekend? Send us a note.
#LUDWIGVAN
Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.