As a musician myself, I feel awkward and unreasonable about these scripted playing videos as Twoset does. However after watching Ray's response, I realize that these videos are not for musicians but for wider public to spread classical music. Thank you Ray for bringing music to people in your way!
I sort of agree. These videos are supposed to clickbait so I don’t like that but I do like that the people who are at the train station or subway get to experience some great music and have joy. I personally would prefer if the TH-camr didn’t act like it was spontaneous and unplanned when they post the video. I’d still watch these style of videos if they acknowledge they were planned. I admire Ray for his approach and for being honest. Much respect
J'ai découvert Ray Chen grâce à ces vidéos et je suis ensuite arrivée sur la chaîne de TwoSetViolin, ce qui est assez ironique vu leur vidéo sur le sujet. Je me rends compte que j'écoute plus de musique classique depuis, elle me semble moins réservée à une élite. Par contre, même si je n'ai jamais pensé qu'il s'agit de rencontres fortuites, j'aimerais mieux que cela soit annoncé comme étant mis en scène, ça n'enlèverait rien à la vidéo.
I like musicians like Ray who strive to spread classical music to the broader public. I also recognize their effort making such videos, and I actually enjoyed many of them. However, I can't convince myself some of them are not mainly to bait clicks which I don't like. There are many other ways of making fun videos that bring classical to everyone, which I much more prefer. ^ I'm not talking about Ray's videos though, most of which I found fun. Just some generic observations. Tbh if the video looks clearly scripted and not pretending to be spontaneous, may be much better. Even film behind the scene would be cool too
I actually got my interest in classical music thanks to those musicians-crashing-in-public videos, but my interest maintains and evolves thanks to Twoset and Ray Chen. And now I have been learning the violin for 4 months. Hope that I could play well someday!!
Hey, great job and never quit it! One day, close to 20 years ago, one guy on the train approached me (I was carrying my violin) and told me "do yourself a favor and don't quit playing, I did and I've been regretting it ever since". Those words stayed with me during those periods when the violin was just no longer appealing to me, and I decided to trust it. Now, it's been 12 years since I've had any thoughts of stopping and I'm oh so glad I've kept going. So I'm passing those words onto you too, and may you have fun and find the ways to play that make you have fun :D
To be honest, if I were at the station and two musicians were willing to rehearse in advance and give me such a high-level performance, I would really be happy. Although it is indeed necessary to consider issue of safety, I am still very grateful.❤❤
The spirit of classical music now requires that Ray, Brett and Eddy do one of these, uhm, "spontaneous" videos together. Who better than Ray to get the boys out of their comfort zone to have some fun. Like if you agree ;)
@@blueyarn721 Just checked it out. OMG. THAT takes courage and risking to appear an absolute fruit loop.... What ya do for views, eh! But it was totally 🤣
I love Ray’s approach to educating the public. To me it seems everything he does has that aim at its core and I applaud him for it. I’m a big fan of him and his work and encourage my own pupils to listen to and watch him. ❤👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
I love TSV and I saw Ray Chen and Hilary Hahn in one of their videos. I now enjoy classical music because of all of them. Thanks to all of you who make listening to classical music more enjoyable.❤❤❤
I'm 60 and started to listen to classical violin because of Ray and Twoset. I hope Ray, Eddy and Brett are not mad at each other, because it's so fun watching you guys together. Love you all!
@@jenniferkuo6650 I think maybe even TwoSet's video and Ray Chen's reaction may be scripted or discussed beforehand, maybe it's to get more engagement from TH-cam communities.
I absolutely agree with Ray that it’s important to spread the joy of classical music, and I agree that these videos are certainly reaching a huge audience, and I’m glad about that, but it seems a shame to me that the only way that the makers of these videos can get people’s attention is with the clickbaity and hugely over-exaggerated captions that actually damage the image we give music in a different way, and still don’t give the truth of classical music, which is what they’re looking to achieve
I love Ray's calm and honest explanation of his videos, he didn't have to do it. And anyways, what's wrong with him wanting to be a violinist AND a youtuber? We all have multiple passions and we're all multi-facted. Him being a youtuber doesn't take away the fact that he is at the same time a very accomplished violinist! So you do you, Ray! Rooting for you ❤🔥
It's definitely not easy sometimes to face everything. But Ray, very honest, very natural, explains his performances to us. I would like to be there to experience that someday. His performance is always great🎻thanks Ray Chen 🎶😍
twoset are just a bunch of snobs for not being able to appreciate the humour and joy your videos bring to the general community, don't let them stop you from doing what you love!
You just won an new subscriber from Germany. I am very impressed. Until last night I had this prejudice that classical music is boring. Then Then I saw a video of this piano player who made music with you at the airport, and today I bought a concert ticket to see you in Munich in 2025. I am excited that I will be sitting in the first row. Thanks for showing a new world to me.
I love these “impromptu” videos because my non-musical family members get such a kick out of them. They would never go to the orchestra with me or learn to play themselves, but they will always stop to watch these videos and enjoy the music. You’re right. It’s a fantastic way to spread the joy of classical music. It’s a good thing to remind people that professional musicians are passionate, hot blooded people who can bust a jam, and don’t live just in the halls of a symphony.
Twoset may have been the ones who inspired me to pick up and learn the violin, but Ray is the one who keeps the passion aflame. So humble and encouraging. I love that you're making classical music fun in a soft and kind way that makes a lot of people comfortable.
Thank you so much Ray to explaining and shedding light to these videos! Love how positive you are and how clear you lay out things! And true! At the end of the day it's about sharing the art and joy of (classical) music or art or anything beautiful!
100 percent agree.. it's done in the same spirit as what twoset do with humour... making classical music more relevant and accessible to new listeners. I was a bit surprised that they didn't see it in that light. Thanks for reacting.
I have no issue with that. The problem is when the video creators try to portray the moment as unplanned, unrehearsed, genuine improvisation. Some even go as far as posting comments on their video like « I was just playing while this random guy pulled out his violin » There is a way for us to enjoy this kind of content without it feeling disingenuous.
I already wrote my comment under the twoset video. That such videos are very important for the promotion of classical music, the video in the room does not give promotion. Ordinary people are not interested in them. Why I don’t shoot a lot of classics is because people are not interested in them. Why don't clients ask me to play pop music, because classical music is not known. I am very grateful to the pianists and Ray for making such content; it is very important. Orchestras do not have a budget; from the entire Conservatory class, only 2-3 work on music. We need to popularize classical music for ordinary people. This will give musicians the opportunity to have more work and people will go to concerts more, not only the older generation, but also the younger generation, and this is important. And if Ray Chen can make popular video with classical music only use some iPhones and this all this su genius 👏👏👏
I completely agree with you Ray about the purpose about these videos and the positivity it brings to people. After all, that is the purpose of music. My question is, why record it in a way that is so obviously staged? I feel like it’ll be much more authentic and interesting if you recorded videos by showing us the behind the scenes, how you set up the meeting, the practice, pre-recording, perhaps even some bloopers, interaction with audiences when you encourage them to request songs, and then of course, the performance itself, where the live audience is genuinely impressed by the sudden appearance of a flash mob. In this way, you can still spread positivity and joy to all, but in a more authentic and fun way. Just my 2 cents. Love what you’re doing and continue spreading joy to all!
@@harmonyrose7344 Please tell me, in what way are Brett and Eddy being unkind? I'm genuinely not aware of any instances where they might've been actually "unkind" in public platform because as far as I can see, they still maintain their TwoSet brand (generally harsh but valid criticism [not every criticism has to be constructive]) pretty well. I don't enjoy their more recent content as much as their older ones (mainly due to the editing choices), but I still see them as the same ol slightly jaded "tough love" Asian violinist duo.
@@sunghyeonmoon2506 I echo your sentiment. I just don't want Brett & Eddy to be a victim of the cancellation mob who will vilify anyone with dissident opinion, or anyone who refuses to use the mob's preferred "coddling" language in everything ("emotional safety", anti harsh criticism warrior, if you know what I mean).
@thenameisseanhong I posted this in another comment. Pasting here now: How often are they genuinely kind to someone vs all the times they’ve dissed someone: Ray, Ben Lee, Vov Dylan, Lindsay Sterling, Andre Rieu, viola players, recorder players, Chloe Chua (in their 1st ever video reacting to her they said that people like Christian better and pointed out her going cross eyed..she was like 11), Alma Deutscher, I could go on and on. I believe Alma was hurt because I read that she tried to justify why she said “interesting” during the video and seemed embarrassed by becoming a meme. Way to go, 2 grown a$$ men, making fun of a little girl and humiliating her. I do like Brett and Eddy’s content, but I think they are not kind people in general. - I don’t think they’ll get cancelled, nor do I want that. I just wish they would consider other people’s feelings sometimes. Especially when it came to the two little girls, Chloe & Alma. Luckily for Chloe TwoSet simps over her now, but or Alma had tshirts made to poke fun at her and a video made at her expense all for clicks. Sorry for spelling/grammar mistakes. Typing from my phone.
This is basically the same argument as wrestling where "fake" is the wrong word. "Scripted" is how you would classify these kinds of videos, whereas the performances are real.
I think this is a good/the best comparison. I don't think it's a deception because most people who watch it are "in" on the premise, so they treat it as a show.
Well actually for decades, the wrestlers and promotions would maintain that all the matches, rivalries and relationships were real. There would be fans literally ready to murder the heels because of what they did in the ring. But Vince McMahon broke kayfabe in 1989, and confirmed the matches were predetermined and they employ story writers. Most fans get angry at the producers, writers and executives if their favourite wrestler doesn't win instead.
@@letao12Totally agree with your point. I'm all for promoting classical music and appealing to more people to appreciate classical music. But spending hours on set-up, re-filming takes, editing, etc and then calling it spontaneous is an insult to everyone involved, and in particular the musicians themselves. You wouldn't call the sculpture of David a spontaneous piece of art. It also sets up completely unrealistic expectations about musicians, that they can collaborate and sound amazing together without rehearsal on a whim.
Hi, Ray! Thanks for responding to TwoSet's reaction about the videos of musicians playing in public spaces to requested songs. They're actually how I discovered you on IG and made me find out who you are, causing me to follow you on your TH-cam channel! You're doing a great job promoting classical music with your prowess on the violin. You're an exemplary musician and awesome educator!
Ray! It was exactly those videos made by you and Emilio that drew me into classical music. Plz keep doing so! Your videos always fuel me up. Scripts are not a big deal, even Twoset has scripted before they did that reaction.
@stravinskyfan once they made a joke about how a kpop song used a classical piece and after that they were met with countless hate comments It was really ridiculous if you ask me
I appreciate Ray's response to the critique. If bringing more people to classical music is ultimately the point, I guess the question then becomes, "do these scripted "two take" performances bring in more of an audience than if Ray and his fellow musicians simply set up in a public space and performed without the premise that this encounter was a random meeting inspired by the request of a random person passing by?" I suppose it's like WWE wrestling...who cares, just enjoy the show.
Thank you for your videos. I have a granddaughter who wss adopted from Tai Pei. She is now turning 23 and attending de Paul completing year 1 of her master degree. She is a violinist who has been playing dince 5 yrs old.. When she plays I find great joy! I don't get to see her often. When I listen to you play different classical music I learn more about her passion. She wants to be in an orchestra and teach violin to children. She has been teaching young children for a few years. Thank you for making this grandmother love classical music! And I told her about watching your videos. She knew all about you. Small world. 😄
Great points, Ray. This is a fantastic format to bring music to more people, especially classical music, so it's crazy to me to see TwoSet try to stop it. Don't let them! :D
Hi Rob, firstly Hi ( love your videos)… I think the issue (and there seems to be many comments on this same video to say the same thing) is that the acting part is really a downer for an otherwise wonderful collaboration….. I see for example your funny videos where people spontaneously react to your violin playing, it would very less encouraging to know they are acting …… You would still be playing awesomely but a viewer definitely wouldn’t like to be fooled…. And I think Twoset in their crude honesty have expressed an opinion many other people shared, they do it through humor but there’s truth in there. And as Ray said it, which we totally believe, they got many things wrong but not due to them being intentionally disingenuous but because of lack of context.
Hey Rob. I love your videos and keep up the good work! However that being said, Twoset was not trying to stop people from making this kind of content but rather just shedding light on the fact that it is staged and not genuine. Twoset’s whole thing is pointing out when people are being cringe or fake which is how they got this popular in the first place. They don’t sugarcoat it which is why I love them. They just say it as it is and that’s totally fine. I think we need both kinds of content creators. One that takes part in the show and one that calls out what needs to be called out. At the end of the day the content creators are clearly trying to portray it as “this is a random musician and totally genuine and not rehearsed at all” which is extremely cringe because everyone already knows it’s not real, so why are you trying to act like it is? Anyways what I’m trying to say is Twoset’s opinion is valid because all they did was give awareness to us(the audience).
Now Twoset needs to react to your reaction! Also, i feel like what they're talking about, is when the musicians literally pretend like they stumble upon each other and just started playing, and i honestly get that, altough it doesn't actually harm anyone, but why even pretend like that, other than for likes on youtube or other platforms. But what Ray is taliking about, makes me think more of flash mobs. Anyway all 3 are great, with amazing taste and skill in music, so who cares about anything else
Nice, proper and clear response, clearly states what a musician should do, spread joyful music and being considerate, instead of just making fun of other musicians
I can't miss each episode! Your approach is delightfully captivating. When I was a student studying keyboard and voice (operatic) I lived to practice and refine my ability on every piece...never felt obliged to practice, just loved it! Thank you for your analysis on pieces and performers. During the fall of communism in East Germany I played a concert for Bach's birthday I was arrested for inciting an overthrow and condemned to death by firing squad they crushed my hands and I took 3 bullets, the underground pulled me from a mass grave...but my hands never healed but my heart lives in music. Thank you for your talent and sharing your love of music!❤
I really believe, that the people at the airport/train station/cafe/etc are going to have a great time, even if they meeting is scripted. Hearing a live performance by professional musicians is not something that everybody has experienced ever so I agree, those people are having the a great time and will have a very memorable afternoon. However, my beef is with the youtube videos and how they are presented and the feeling they are trying to sell, because in my opinion they are really cringey specially with those captions. I watched a few and then I have been ignoring them. Even if I don't like the videos themselves, I still think it's a really nice from Ray to do this collabs with other musicians, for them and for the audience that didn't expect such a class act.
If Ray’s violin teacher used to wake him up in the middle of the night and make him play flawlessly, I’m sure the improvised airport/cafe/whatever during daytime is a piece of cake 😂
You are so kind so polite to say this, I like this series, I don’t know what’s the matter in this and I would love to watch this kind of performance in life. Thank you, you are a real musician.
Hey Ray, I support what you do and I love that you are passionate in sharing music with people regardless of circumstances. I will support you as always, wish you all the best!!! ❤
❤ Thank you, Ray, for answering the questions. Your friendship with Twoset is strong. Brett owes you so much for studying together with him for the Singapore concert. We haven't forgotten that! We are truly grateful to you. Thank you for bringing classical music outside the concert halls to expose everyone and anyone to the beauty of it. We do appreciate you as a person and as the fabulous musician you are❤❤❤❤❤
So classy… the positive impact you’re making in the world, not just in spreading classical music. Love your work in your online platforms especially the impact you have on the younger generations!
I think Ray Chen is phenomenal and I love his content. That being said, what I don't think is addressed here is the fact that these kinds of videos are set up with the "supposed organic nature" of two musicians randomly meeting and playing brilliantly together. From the screenshots, to the captions and the click bait titles, to the zoomed-in reactions of bystanders (some/most which I have no doubt are real)...I never doubt the music, I'm in awe of all musicians who play to a great standard and are excellent performers. However, I just can't stand the way these videos are shot by pretending to be organic when it's all pre-meditated. It takes away from the authenticity of music because the music isn't the real focus; the fact that two musicians RANDOMLY start jamming together in a public place in perfect harmony is. If your focus was to bring music to the masses, why the need for the false pretenses? We live in a weird world.
I started to enjoy and sort of understand classical music because of TwoSet and I was also introduce to Ray Chen, this big and famous violinist, because of them.
Security probably told them please don't record it. And though they had no legal right to comply, the performers need security on their good side for future performances. Again, they may have the legal right to perform there in the future, but its always good to leave positive memories with security, secretaries and janitors.
Seriously...this was posted 4 hrs ago and there are 200+ comments... but Ray is so professional and incredibly courteous about this response. I also love Ray's subtle flex that he "can play vivaldi any time". Legit talent, Twoset!!
Twoset never said Ray wasn't talented. Ray was one of the violinists Brett studied to prepare for his Mendelssohn. The Four Seasons are considered grade-level pieces for music exams by programs such as RCM, ABRSM, LCM, etc. They aren't among the pieces that'd be played for diploma-level evaluations. So Ray saying he can play them anytime... I'd really hope so.
I have no problem with the idea that these performances are partly planned. As Ray says, it's about the enjoyment of music. My musical skills are nowhere near that level, but I use my knitting in a similar way. I knit in public to create interest in knitting, and to build connections. And I often give away what I knit, to pass on the enjoyment. Anything we can do to make the world a happier place is a good thing, whether it's planned or not. Also, why would anyone think this kind of performance "shouldn't be allowed"? That makes no sense to me.
I like how you just calmly explained this. I am a fan of both you, Ray, and Brett and Eddy and I owe it to you all that I started taking violin lessons as an adult. I love how you share the love of classical music nowadays and share it with people online. I hope there is no bad blood between you three from now on cause I love how much joy you bring to people and see you together 😊
I don't think anyone would say public performances are not positive and impactful. Busking has a long, proud history. Love and appreciate the music, the musicians and the joy these type of videos bring. What is lame and cringe are the fake "spontaneous duet performance " videos. The true spontaneous performances are rare and special, and these videos are busking pretending to be more than they are.
I don't get tired of 'surprising collab of musicians on the street' type of videos. They always make me happy to see how people just can play together regardless of where. Please make more of these spontaneous performces. One of these videos (a while ago so it's not from yours) has inspired me to write stories. Along the way, I began to be interested in trying out an instrument again. So no harm.
Dude!! First, thanks for making this explainer about this performance practice. Second, personally, I strongly agree with the idea of bringing performance to people, in whatever form feels right. The classic idea of concert hall performances, with all the vintage trappings, as the only legit space for "classical" is being overtaken by new ideas about what makes for a performance space -- a living room, a street corner, TH-cam, TTok, a park, whatever -- as well as new ideas for stagings. RayC (and 2Set) are doing inspiring work in this area. I am seeing, around us, a cohort of world class musical artists who are opening the doors to artistic ideas that bring fresh air into a room that had started to feel stale. Besides RayC, I'm also thinking here of HH, the Metropolitan Opera, the NYCBallet, and several others of varying degrees of fame. Thanks to the work of these artists, and fun and nutty ideas like semi-impromptu public performances for YT or TT, this has become an exciting time to be a musician.
😊🌹 I love your playing for a number of reasons (can’t go into them here). We will be watching you live in Taiwan. 😊 Thank you for putting passionate and wonderful music in the world that touches young people too, who may never otherwise have taken notice of violin / classical music (like my nieces and nephew). ❤️🌹 With beautiful music you can transcend and nearly grace the divine, just for an imperceptible moment. But that might just be enough, you’ll need no more. It is that powerful and beautiful.
@@michelleohara9981 I think anything the has a degree of editing contains potential lies, intentional or unintentional. Only listening to live music is true. This doesn't mean that editing work is without art, it's just a different type of art. It is not in the moment as live music is. And that is the space that a sense of connection or sharing communication occurs. It would be interesting to put a bunch of AI together to see if they could play together as a chamber group of somesuch.
I love Ray's final point -try everything. At times I find myself being put off a bit by videos that I see from these classical channels that strike me as cheesy or pandering but in those moments I should perhaps be seeing a positive-if every video they made appealed to my taste they would be missing a huge potential audience that responds to something different. I love seeing comments from people here that these types of videos got them interested in classical music, or kids who started playing an instrument because they love twoset's content.
The videos are great. The music is great. Why not just frame it as "hey ... I'm in the mall" ... "I'm going to meet someone" - make it a mystery ... but the various performers setting up meetings and pretending it is spontaneous is not telling the truth and totally unnecessary. Twoset is right here. Their flash mob is perfect. And you can see the joy in that one too. Let's just frame it as "Hey nice to meet you in reality after chatting on Viber. Let's play together and see how it goes." And let it happen. Honest - but still a nice back story. Same joy. But real story. The real story is just as nice. We are lucky - great music from Ray in Public And a great public Flash Mob from Twoset which wouldn't have happened without Ray's piece. Double the joy. But even more important - more attention for classical music.
The impact is really nice! But the lie, not so much. In this video Ray is quite clear about what is planned and what isn't. Problem is the clickbait "UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER OMG!!!" while the situation was 100% expected from both sides. Coincidences are awesome, but same can be said about 2 good musicians having a good time with a crowd, no need to lie about it.
this! I was looking for this comment. I really hate clickbait -_- and that is precisely the reason I don't watch those videos anymore, I don't like to be lied in the face, specially if I already know it is a lie...
True, but again it's all about reaching ppl right? Both live and online. Whatever it takes (within reason) to draw a crowd/views to classical music. Gotta sell it!! ❤ Clickbait? Maybe but the goods are there, regardless how they "met up". 😍
I'm very happy Ray takes TwoSet called up on him really well 😂 I myself also one of person who like to know what makes Ray want to do this kind of performance, i know it was staged but it is kind of interesting to hear from professional why they want to do that, because some of musician that appear on that "staged meeting" video are also well known people in classical music that we never did hear why they want to do that kind of collaboration
Hey, Ray! You have such a lovely personality. It's awesome to see we still have people like You on this planet. Your response is high-class. As much as I love listening to people playing music and I'd be on cloud nine if I unexpectedly heard/saw a world-class violinist like you at an airport, to be honest, I never watch those "randon surpirse piano" videos on TH-cam, because of all the cringy lies like: "we didn't expect this violinist to appear out of thin air!" It reeks of being fake, and now you confirmed that the meet is planned. I mean, it does feel like those pianists are trying to make idiots of people. That's painful to see. One thing I would love you to clarify: why do they do that, instead of calling it what it really is: a flash mob! There's nothing wrong with a flash mob! It would be more credible and would gather as many views and likes as the charade they're putting up saying: "Oh, I didn't know he was a professional musician." Like, he didn't pick up on that during the first rehearsal? Honestly, I didn't enjoy those videos to the point that I asked yt to stop recommending me that channel. Phew... All that aside, my daughter and I admire you as a musician. My daughter loves using your app to practice playing the violin every day! It is amazing. Thank you for your positive impact on young musicians. 💖
Its amazing to bring Music out to the public, but the thing I think most musicians find troubling, is the format of flashy titles and clickbaityness. It sounds so great by itself, it shouldn’t have to be carried by flashy remarks.
I'm all for flash mob style performances. The difference between that and this type of video format is that they don't pretend that the flash mob was spontaneously assembled in the moment. It's deceptive to tell people that these are impromptu and uncoordinated performances by passing musicians. The content of these videos could nearly be unchanged but instead of saying "This world famous violinist randomly joined me." say "I collabed with this world famous violinist to surprise the crowd."
The flash mob performance is awesome and it really brings the joy to the people. I just think that's great and do not need the " pretending part " such as pretending the performance is not scripted after watching so many flash mob performances that went same way in the opening. Without that kind of opening, the performance is still awesome.
Ray, I am so proud of you! What you did these years has encouraged and inspired me a lot on music and I started playing flute again which I have given up for years. And because of you, I found my passion for music and… of course practice again❤🤣 love ya
Ok, I feel like I need to say something here, even though I usually feel very uncomfortable posting comments on the Internet. First, I have to say I'm a fan of both Ray and TwoSet, and I have been incredibly lucky to attend their concerts-Ray's in my country (greetings from Bulgaria :) ) and TwoSet's recent show this March in Munich, Germany. Both have been incredible experiences, although I must admit, TwoSet's show has a really special place in my heart just because it's so different from anything I have seen before. Now, to the topic-I think people on the Internet these days are incredibly touchy and see problems where there aren't any. I don't think there is anything inherently insulting in TwoSet's video, but it's good for Ray to explain a bit of the process behind these performances. I agree that sharing a positive emotion and presenting classical music in a funny way is crucial for bringing more audience to it; however, I have a few issues with this concept of "spontaneous" staged videos: - The captions are really annoying-something that was a main point in TwoSet's video. - We all (I hope) can tell that these videos are staged, so the whole "You wouldn't believe what is gonna happen" act is very cringey. - If there were 5-10 videos like this, I could give them a pass. But I feel like there are thousands of this type of content, so, at least for me, the whole idea became annoying very quickly. And it's kind of sad that some of these pianists get more views from these videos rather than their concerts or more "formal" performances. - Lastly, Ray, I'm sorry, but I have a hard time believing that so many people from the audience could be brave enough to make song requests in public IN FRONT OF A CAMERA. The mere fact that you should encourage them to do that proves that the whole thing is staged. Again, nothing wrong with that, but the way it's packaged could be...let's say, improved. Maybe I'm biased because in my country you can barely make a critical comment without being labeled a "hater," but I feel you can still be genuine and positive without that amount of staging. But hey, that's just me-maybe I'm just old for this era of the Internet (I'm 35 now). At the end of the day, Ray is a brilliant, famous musician, these videos get millions of views, and I'm literally nobody. Lastly, I want to make a point regarding several comments that I read here about TwoSet being lazy, not practicing, and generally implying they are not good musicians. Trust me, they are extremely good musicians. They may joke about being failures or not good enough to become soloists, but after having seen them live, I can testify with great happiness that they sound great. It's not easy to play Paganini's 24th Caprice as a second encore after an hour and a half show :) Peace and love, everybody :)
Fantastic video response! I hope you will share even more music 🎶🎵 with all of us! Just imagine that now i dream of playing my violin with someone else in an airport ❤ . Ray, you are inspiring.
Thanks for sharing insight about what goes on behind the scenes, Ray! I've always been curious about the process. I must admit I'm quite honestly not really a fan of that format (I think it's the asinine commentary plastered through the whole thing that kills it for me 😅), but it's basically just like a little skit, and it looks like you're having tons of fun with it, which is what matters the most 🙂
Thank you for bring clarity to an on going question of are some street performances planned or scripted. Beautifully explained. Stay healthy and take care.
Thank you for the clarification Ray! I love twoset just as much as I love you and I appreciate the clarification on this whole trend. I 100% agree with where you stand and I remember seeing some of the videos for the first time and loving how good all of the musicians sounded but was questioning how all of these videos were “random”. Nevertheless, I went to my trusty friends twoset and they seemed too skeptical about the whole situation bc well…they are twoset lol 😂 but either way, I am glad that you just let people enjoy the music and have fun bc that’s what’s it’s about 🥰 love you Ray!
I appreciate that he just decided to be transparent and not insult Brett and Eddy. It’s not clear to me that TwoSet’s video was in good fun but I hope it was? Like with Davie504.
I like the fact that the videos bring great classical music to the public. I hate the videos for their fraudulent claims/insinuation that they are spontaneous musical gatherings. No one should be surprised when people are not happy about being lied to. No matter what the intention of the content creators are.
Ray, thank you for this, it's very sincerely explained, I feel you did better this time than you two little "brothers". Hope this won't bring any harm to your friendship, I love you all :)
I agree with your point about a positive impact but this whole "unplanned" performance thing is still deception to a degree. I can see why a format like this is effective in attaining the purpose of music reaching as many audiences as possible but It can be very easy to lose your identity in the long-term of making videos like these. As classical musicians we must still hold pride in what we do.
@@nancyjfs I wouldn't say it's a huge deal but for me personally, it ruins these videos. It feels like the scripted events in casting shows and similar reality TV formats. Instead of just focusing on the music and the way people react to it, it tries to create 'a special moment', something spontaneous and more impressive than just two musicians who have met and practiced before performing a piece of music together. It's part of a trend of faking big moments on social media for clout and it distorts people's view on music and performances. It's not the end of the world but there's just an unpleasant aftertaste to the whole thing. We're living in a time and a culture where almost everything is fake, where everything is turned into a spectacle and where ads, influencers and social media are constantly trying to sell us some glossy version of reality that has nothing to do with the real world. I'd prefer it if classical music stayed out of that particular virtual nightmare.
I think one the best potential is that it could inspire the next generation for loving the music. Its that right? What we dream when we are children, when are so small are the things that inspired us in the future. There are lot of children in the vid
I actually saw one of these video and find out who's the violinist😂 and from Ray to Twosetviolin! Love how they educate me on so mamy classical music knowledge. It helped me learn violin with a more inquisitive mind at the age of 40 picking up a violin
You know what, even if everything in the Twoset’s video is true and you didn’t make this video, I still believe in you and your music. Because music is the greatest instrument, it tells us everything about the heart of people who is playing it. And everything you’ve done for music for the 35 years of your life until now has shown us how your heart is and how much you want to inspire other musicians. So, don’t be worried, just be Ray. ❤
I don’t think have script can be a problem, and most people can know the show is planned. So what? People enjoy Ray's music there, it’s enough. If I can meet Ray’s performance in station, I will be very happy at that day. ❤
![Did TwoSet actually IMPROVE?! [Professional Violinist Reviews]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/h1OskVoKNuQ/mqdefault.jpg)
![Did TwoSet actually IMPROVE?! [Professional Violinist Reviews]](/img/tr.png)
As a musician myself, I feel awkward and unreasonable about these scripted playing videos as Twoset does. However after watching Ray's response, I realize that these videos are not for musicians but for wider public to spread classical music. Thank you Ray for bringing music to people in your way!
Yes it's great to spread it, but, to play it off as if it's a random encounter is really deceptive and weird.
I sort of agree. These videos are supposed to clickbait so I don’t like that but I do like that the people who are at the train station or subway get to experience some great music and have joy. I personally would prefer if the TH-camr didn’t act like it was spontaneous and unplanned when they post the video. I’d still watch these style of videos if they acknowledge they were planned. I admire Ray for his approach and for being honest. Much respect
@@ggtoxin6148 So don't watch.
J'ai découvert Ray Chen grâce à ces vidéos et je suis ensuite arrivée sur la chaîne de TwoSetViolin, ce qui est assez ironique vu leur vidéo sur le sujet. Je me rends compte que j'écoute plus de musique classique depuis, elle me semble moins réservée à une élite. Par contre, même si je n'ai jamais pensé qu'il s'agit de rencontres fortuites, j'aimerais mieux que cela soit annoncé comme étant mis en scène, ça n'enlèverait rien à la vidéo.
I like musicians like Ray who strive to spread classical music to the broader public. I also recognize their effort making such videos, and I actually enjoyed many of them. However, I can't convince myself some of them are not mainly to bait clicks which I don't like. There are many other ways of making fun videos that bring classical to everyone, which I much more prefer.
^ I'm not talking about Ray's videos though, most of which I found fun. Just some generic observations. Tbh if the video looks clearly scripted and not pretending to be spontaneous, may be much better. Even film behind the scene would be cool too
I actually got my interest in classical music thanks to those musicians-crashing-in-public videos, but my interest maintains and evolves thanks to Twoset and Ray Chen. And now I have been learning the violin for 4 months. Hope that I could play well someday!!
Keep going! You can do it!
Hey, great job and never quit it!
One day, close to 20 years ago, one guy on the train approached me (I was carrying my violin) and told me "do yourself a favor and don't quit playing, I did and I've been regretting it ever since". Those words stayed with me during those periods when the violin was just no longer appealing to me, and I decided to trust it. Now, it's been 12 years since I've had any thoughts of stopping and I'm oh so glad I've kept going. So I'm passing those words onto you too, and may you have fun and find the ways to play that make you have fun :D
To be honest, if I were at the station and two musicians were willing to rehearse in advance and give me such a high-level performance, I would really be happy. Although it is indeed necessary to consider issue of safety, I am still very grateful.❤❤
The spirit of classical music now requires that Ray, Brett and Eddy do one of these, uhm, "spontaneous" videos together. Who better than Ray to get the boys out of their comfort zone to have some fun. Like if you agree ;)
Get them out of their comfort zone? Have you seen their video about chanting Rite of spring in public? 🤣
Well Brett & Eddy have not long uploaded one of these 'spontaneous' videos only they went one better! All great fun, eh.
@@blueyarn721 I still can't fully comprehend how they filmed that 😆
oh that'll be really nice!😆
@@blueyarn721 Just checked it out. OMG. THAT takes courage and risking to appear an absolute fruit loop.... What ya do for views, eh! But it was totally 🤣
😳😳😳😳 oh my gosh! Didn't think Ray would actually answer to Twoset's vid but here we go.
I love Ray’s approach to educating the public. To me it seems everything he does has that aim at its core and I applaud him for it. I’m a big fan of him and his work and encourage my own pupils to listen to and watch him. ❤👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
I love TSV and I saw Ray Chen and Hilary Hahn in one of their videos. I now enjoy classical music because of all of them. Thanks to all of you who make listening to classical music more enjoyable.❤❤❤
Same for me, but I saw Ray and Emilio first, then looked up TwoSet.
I'm 60 and started to listen to classical violin because of Ray and Twoset. I hope Ray, Eddy and Brett are not mad at each other, because it's so fun watching you guys together. Love you all!
@@jenniferkuo6650They are friends irl, don't worry.
@@jenniferkuo6650 I think maybe even TwoSet's video and Ray Chen's reaction may be scripted or discussed beforehand, maybe it's to get more engagement from TH-cam communities.
I absolutely agree with Ray that it’s important to spread the joy of classical music, and I agree that these videos are certainly reaching a huge audience, and I’m glad about that, but it seems a shame to me that the only way that the makers of these videos can get people’s attention is with the clickbaity and hugely over-exaggerated captions that actually damage the image we give music in a different way, and still don’t give the truth of classical music, which is what they’re looking to achieve
those people are so lucky to see a free performance of world class musicians. I love how level headed Ray is… a true professional
Ray has so many qualities (playing, speaking, etc.), and it's doing great things for the music community. Keep going, Ray! We are in your side!
In his side? He probably hopes not... lol!
I love Ray's calm and honest explanation of his videos, he didn't have to do it. And anyways, what's wrong with him wanting to be a violinist AND a youtuber? We all have multiple passions and we're all multi-facted. Him being a youtuber doesn't take away the fact that he is at the same time a very accomplished violinist! So you do you, Ray! Rooting for you ❤🔥
It's definitely not easy sometimes to face everything. But Ray, very honest, very natural, explains his performances to us. I would like to be there to experience that someday. His performance is always great🎻thanks Ray Chen 🎶😍
Keep being amazing and share your music to the world Ray ❤
It was your video that made me meet Ray❤ thank you😊❤
twoset are just a bunch of snobs for not being able to appreciate the humour and joy your videos bring to the general community, don't let them stop you from doing what you love!
Agree to the comment above. It is you who introduced me to Ray! Amazing! Thank You for sharing Joy!!! ✨✨✨✨
You're both awesome!
@@samaritan29they aren’t being snobs. I don’t think you picked up much of the sarcasm..which is basically content they tend to make time to time
You just won an new subscriber from Germany. I am very impressed. Until last night I had this prejudice that classical music is boring. Then Then I saw a video of this piano player who made music with you at the airport, and today I bought a concert ticket to see you in Munich in 2025. I am excited that I will be sitting in the first row. Thanks for showing a new world to me.
Welcome to the world of Classical Music!
I also got my interest in classical music from those train station/airport videos. Now I am learning violin (self-teaching) at age 28.
@@shoppingreviews7755 Come on! I am learning the piano!
I love these “impromptu” videos because my non-musical family members get such a kick out of them. They would never go to the orchestra with me or learn to play themselves, but they will always stop to watch these videos and enjoy the music. You’re right. It’s a fantastic way to spread the joy of classical music. It’s a good thing to remind people that professional musicians are passionate, hot blooded people who can bust a jam, and don’t live just in the halls of a symphony.
Any world renowned musician at Ray's level who generously shares his talent is giving a gift to all who are fortunate enough to hear him.
Twoset may have been the ones who inspired me to pick up and learn the violin, but Ray is the one who keeps the passion aflame. So humble and encouraging. I love that you're making classical music fun in a soft and kind way that makes a lot of people comfortable.
Thank you so much Ray to explaining and shedding light to these videos! Love how positive you are and how clear you lay out things! And true! At the end of the day it's about sharing the art and joy of (classical) music or art or anything beautiful!
100 percent agree.. it's done in the same spirit as what twoset do with humour... making classical music more relevant and accessible to new listeners. I was a bit surprised that they didn't see it in that light. Thanks for reacting.
But twoset has never blatantly lied to their viewers for clicks. Ray says it himself that they rehearse and set repertoire.
April fools?
@@TheAsianTree they lied a lot
@@WISH-Art-s6o ik, but I mentioned specifically for clicks.
I have no issue with that. The problem is when the video creators try to portray the moment as unplanned, unrehearsed, genuine improvisation. Some even go as far as posting comments on their video like « I was just playing while this random guy pulled out his violin »
There is a way for us to enjoy this kind of content without it feeling disingenuous.
I already wrote my comment under the twoset video. That such videos are very important for the promotion of classical music, the video in the room does not give promotion. Ordinary people are not interested in them. Why I don’t shoot a lot of classics is because people are not interested in them. Why don't clients ask me to play pop music, because classical music is not known. I am very grateful to the pianists and Ray for making such content; it is very important. Orchestras do not have a budget; from the entire Conservatory class, only 2-3 work on music. We need to popularize classical music for ordinary people. This will give musicians the opportunity to have more work and people will go to concerts more, not only the older generation, but also the younger generation, and this is important.
And if Ray Chen can make popular video with classical music only use some iPhones and this all this su genius 👏👏👏
I completely agree with you Ray about the purpose about these videos and the positivity it brings to people. After all, that is the purpose of music.
My question is, why record it in a way that is so obviously staged?
I feel like it’ll be much more authentic and interesting if you recorded videos by showing us the behind the scenes, how you set up the meeting, the practice, pre-recording, perhaps even some bloopers, interaction with audiences when you encourage them to request songs, and then of course, the performance itself, where the live audience is genuinely impressed by the sudden appearance of a flash mob.
In this way, you can still spread positivity and joy to all, but in a more authentic and fun way.
Just my 2 cents. Love what you’re doing and continue spreading joy to all!
You expressed my thoughts exactly!!!!
Same!
Clicks !
Exactly. It's not like Twoset ever criticised the music or any kind of flashmob. It's the fakeness and the dumbed-down editing.
@@GretchaninovThat’s a great point
Such a humble response! You are such an inspiration and after watching a lot of your videos, I fell back in love with classical music.
Respect! I love your response. The is the perfect follow up for TwoSet’s video. Great mindset and excellent player!!
睇到兩個俊男一個鋼琴一個提小提琴 真的賞心悅目 我也是從emo影片認識Ray Chen，一睇就上癮了 其實有實力 唔怕比人抺黑 真的假的都不再重要 觀眾有腦自行思考 但諷刺人也應該裝備好自己先有說服力
我還在小紅書上了解到twoset是怎麼對待員工的，還克扣了editor san的工資😂我已經脫粉他們倆了😂
@@kamui_harusame 兩個跟本無賣點 低低能能咁
@@kamui_harusame 确实，看这的评论，似乎大家都不记得这些事了...其实我觉得2set很多言论真的挺debatable
I truly hope Ling Ling insurance isn't failing Brett & Eddy lol.
I hope it does lol I like them, but they can be very unkind sometimes. I think they need a check on themselves.
I get what you mean, but they're just stating facts and you can't really hate facts 😬
@@harmonyrose7344 Please tell me, in what way are Brett and Eddy being unkind? I'm genuinely not aware of any instances where they might've been actually "unkind" in public platform because as far as I can see, they still maintain their TwoSet brand (generally harsh but valid criticism [not every criticism has to be constructive]) pretty well. I don't enjoy their more recent content as much as their older ones (mainly due to the editing choices), but I still see them as the same ol slightly jaded "tough love" Asian violinist duo.
@@sunghyeonmoon2506 I echo your sentiment. I just don't want Brett & Eddy to be a victim of the cancellation mob who will vilify anyone with dissident opinion, or anyone who refuses to use the mob's preferred "coddling" language in everything ("emotional safety", anti harsh criticism warrior, if you know what I mean).
@thenameisseanhong I posted this in another comment. Pasting here now: How often are they genuinely kind to someone vs all the times they’ve dissed someone: Ray, Ben Lee, Vov Dylan, Lindsay Sterling, Andre Rieu, viola players, recorder players, Chloe Chua (in their 1st ever video reacting to her they said that people like Christian better and pointed out her going cross eyed..she was like 11), Alma Deutscher, I could go on and on. I believe Alma was hurt because I read that she tried to justify why she said “interesting” during the video and seemed embarrassed by becoming a meme. Way to go, 2 grown a$$ men, making fun of a little girl and humiliating her. I do like Brett and Eddy’s content, but I think they are not kind people in general. - I don’t think they’ll get cancelled, nor do I want that. I just wish they would consider other people’s feelings sometimes. Especially when it came to the two little girls, Chloe & Alma. Luckily for Chloe TwoSet simps over her now, but or Alma had tshirts made to poke fun at her and a video made at her expense all for clicks. Sorry for spelling/grammar mistakes. Typing from my phone.
Love this response video, no beef, just kindness and joy.
This is basically the same argument as wrestling where "fake" is the wrong word. "Scripted" is how you would classify these kinds of videos, whereas the performances are real.
agree
I think this is a good/the best comparison. I don't think it's a deception because most people who watch it are "in" on the premise, so they treat it as a show.
Well actually for decades, the wrestlers and promotions would maintain that all the matches, rivalries and relationships were real. There would be fans literally ready to murder the heels because of what they did in the ring. But Vince McMahon broke kayfabe in 1989, and confirmed the matches were predetermined and they employ story writers. Most fans get angry at the producers, writers and executives if their favourite wrestler doesn't win instead.
Sure, but then don't sell it as a spontaneous thing that randomly happened and surprised everyone. It isn't. Call it what it is, a public performance.
@@letao12Totally agree with your point. I'm all for promoting classical music and appealing to more people to appreciate classical music. But spending hours on set-up, re-filming takes, editing, etc and then calling it spontaneous is an insult to everyone involved, and in particular the musicians themselves. You wouldn't call the sculpture of David a spontaneous piece of art. It also sets up completely unrealistic expectations about musicians, that they can collaborate and sound amazing together without rehearsal on a whim.
Hi, Ray! Thanks for responding to TwoSet's reaction about the videos of musicians playing in public spaces to requested songs. They're actually how I discovered you on IG and made me find out who you are, causing me to follow you on your TH-cam channel! You're doing a great job promoting classical music with your prowess on the violin. You're an exemplary musician and awesome educator!
Cheer up Ray! We will continue to support you and classical music!
Ray! It was exactly those videos made by you and Emilio that drew me into classical music. Plz keep doing so! Your videos always fuel me up. Scripts are not a big deal, even Twoset has scripted before they did that reaction.
“‘Is this bringing positive impact to people?’ - that’s the way I measure success!” GOLD! Beautiful! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
因為看了Ray和Emilio.paino合作的影片，才讓我重拾了對古典樂的喜愛。因為身邊的人大部份喜歡的是流行樂，也不想讓周圍的人覺得我很假掰，畢竟我又不會彈任何樂器，就絕口不提其實我蠻喜歡聽古典樂。
古典樂總給人一種高大尚的距離感，好像是某些特定人才能有的興趣愛好。 但仔細聽有些廣告、電影、動漫配樂裡都有古典樂在裡面，其實並沒有距離我們那麼遙遠。
雖然我不會演奏，但我一樣可以欣賞這些亙古流傳的旋律，透過不同的音樂家感受他們想要傳達的訊息和故事。
TH-cam和短影片是一個很棒的傳播媒介，感謝Ray和所有音樂家的努力，讓這份美好傳承下去，讓更多人知道。
我想不管是看影片的觀眾，或是在場的聽眾都能感受到那份感動和inspiration是真的
並沒有人批評他們把音樂帶給公眾，問題在於有欺騙成份，明明可以大方表演，為什麼要裝偶遇？看一兩次還叫有趣，看十次八次就覺得智商都被侮辱了，哪來的那麼多偶遇，從沒練習過又怎會這樣合拍這樣完美？我相信不帶欺騙的音樂演出和影片都可以達到一樣的效果，公眾也一樣可以感受音樂帶來的快樂
@@theiaselene 對，真是沒排練過的 反而 讓大家知道 演奏家 其實 也不是那麽完美的。好啦 至少Ray 沒逃避 也坦誠 也夠誠意了
正是因爲 古典給人高大尚的感覺 所以 廣告電影 都愛用。
@@theiaselene 對我來說是一個驚喜! 快閃表演也要訂時間、地點、表演內容；真人秀節目其實也有劇本。我反倒會好希望能偶遇這樣的安排，然後內心裡大笑三聲：再演啊~你們兩個😆😆😆認真就輸了(茶)
不管有沒有排練，他是一個職業的演奏家，如果他随隨便便就把一個不夠好的表演帶給觀眾，那這也太不專業。即使只是拍一個短視頻，我相信他都會盡力做到最好。
以上只是我個人的想法。
偶遇是他們表演的一部分，不是只有音樂是表演，還有其他的戲劇張力也是他的表演內容
It's actually nice to see that Ray isn't offended because, you know, Twoset has dark past with parody😂
Edit: I really didn't mean to start this 💀
what dark past
@stravinskyfan once they made a joke about how a kpop song used a classical piece and after that they were met with countless hate comments
It was really ridiculous if you ask me
@@wishhh9960 oh, forgot about that one. thanks for answering.
Ray makes both of them look like amateur violinists!
@@AndySaenz924 irrelevant but ok
I appreciate Ray's response to the critique. If bringing more people to classical music is ultimately the point, I guess the question then becomes, "do these scripted "two take" performances bring in more of an audience than if Ray and his fellow musicians simply set up in a public space and performed without the premise that this encounter was a random meeting inspired by the request of a random person passing by?" I suppose it's like WWE wrestling...who cares, just enjoy the show.
Thank you for your videos. I have a granddaughter who wss adopted from Tai Pei. She is now turning 23 and attending de Paul completing year 1 of her master degree. She is a violinist who has been playing dince 5 yrs old.. When she plays I find great joy! I don't get to see her often. When I listen to you play different classical music I learn more about her passion. She wants to be in an orchestra and teach violin to children. She has been teaching young children for a few years. Thank you for making this grandmother love classical music! And I told her about watching your videos. She knew all about you. Small world. 😄
Ray, you've my full support. You're a real gentleman.
Great points, Ray.
This is a fantastic format to bring music to more people, especially classical music, so it's crazy to me to see TwoSet try to stop it. Don't let them! :D
Hi Rob, firstly Hi ( love your videos)… I think the issue (and there seems to be many comments on this same video to say the same thing) is that the acting part is really a downer for an otherwise wonderful collaboration….. I see for example your funny videos where people spontaneously react to your violin playing, it would very less encouraging to know they are acting …… You would still be playing awesomely but a viewer definitely wouldn’t like to be fooled…. And I think Twoset in their crude honesty have expressed an opinion many other people shared, they do it through humor but there’s truth in there. And as Ray said it, which we totally believe, they got many things wrong but not due to them being intentionally disingenuous but because of lack of context.
Hey Rob. I love your videos and keep up the good work! However that being said, Twoset was not trying to stop people from making this kind of content but rather just shedding light on the fact that it is staged and not genuine. Twoset’s whole thing is pointing out when people are being cringe or fake which is how they got this popular in the first place. They don’t sugarcoat it which is why I love them. They just say it as it is and that’s totally fine. I think we need both kinds of content creators. One that takes part in the show and one that calls out what needs to be called out. At the end of the day the content creators are clearly trying to portray it as “this is a random musician and totally genuine and not rehearsed at all” which is extremely cringe because everyone already knows it’s not real, so why are you trying to act like it is? Anyways what I’m trying to say is Twoset’s opinion is valid because all they did was give awareness to us(the audience).
Ray explains everything gently like a big brother!! I hope to hear Ray play in public one day lol It will be one of the best days in my life!!
He is soooo nice
It is nice hearing him explain so calmly and honestly how it works
Now Twoset needs to react to your reaction!
Also, i feel like what they're talking about, is when the musicians literally pretend like they stumble upon each other and just started playing, and i honestly get that, altough it doesn't actually harm anyone, but why even pretend like that, other than for likes on youtube or other platforms. But what Ray is taliking about, makes me think more of flash mobs. Anyway all 3 are great, with amazing taste and skill in music, so who cares about anything else
Nice, proper and clear response, clearly states what a musician should do, spread joyful music and being considerate, instead of just making fun of other musicians
I can't miss each episode! Your approach is delightfully captivating. When I was a student studying keyboard and voice (operatic) I lived to practice and refine my ability on every piece...never felt obliged to practice, just loved it! Thank you for your analysis on pieces and performers. During the fall of communism in East Germany I played a concert for Bach's birthday I was arrested for inciting an overthrow and condemned to death by firing squad they crushed my hands and I took 3 bullets, the underground pulled me from a mass grave...but my hands never healed but my heart lives in music. Thank you for your talent and sharing your love of music!❤
I really believe, that the people at the airport/train station/cafe/etc are going to have a great time, even if they meeting is scripted. Hearing a live performance by professional musicians is not something that everybody has experienced ever so I agree, those people are having the a great time and will have a very memorable afternoon.
However, my beef is with the youtube videos and how they are presented and the feeling they are trying to sell, because in my opinion they are really cringey specially with those captions. I watched a few and then I have been ignoring them. Even if I don't like the videos themselves, I still think it's a really nice from Ray to do this collabs with other musicians, for them and for the audience that didn't expect such a class act.
If Ray’s violin teacher used to wake him up in the middle of the night and make him play flawlessly, I’m sure the improvised airport/cafe/whatever during daytime is a piece of cake 😂
To me, Ray is very much an artist "of the people". Thanks for making beautiful music accessible to the masses.
You are so kind so polite to say this, I like this series, I don’t know what’s the matter in this and I would love to watch this kind of performance in life. Thank you, you are a real musician.
Hey Ray, I support what you do and I love that you are passionate in sharing music with people regardless of circumstances. I will support you as always, wish you all the best!!! ❤
❤ Thank you, Ray, for answering the questions. Your friendship with Twoset is strong. Brett owes you so much for studying together with him for the Singapore concert. We haven't forgotten that! We are truly grateful to you. Thank you for bringing classical music outside the concert halls to expose everyone and anyone to the beauty of it. We do appreciate you as a person and as the fabulous musician you are❤❤❤❤❤
So classy… the positive impact you’re making in the world, not just in spreading classical music. Love your work in your online platforms especially the impact you have on the younger generations!
It doesn't matter if it's planned or not. I think random acts of music are great.
I think Ray Chen is phenomenal and I love his content. That being said, what I don't think is addressed here is the fact that these kinds of videos are set up with the "supposed organic nature" of two musicians randomly meeting and playing brilliantly together. From the screenshots, to the captions and the click bait titles, to the zoomed-in reactions of bystanders (some/most which I have no doubt are real)...I never doubt the music, I'm in awe of all musicians who play to a great standard and are excellent performers. However, I just can't stand the way these videos are shot by pretending to be organic when it's all pre-meditated. It takes away from the authenticity of music because the music isn't the real focus; the fact that two musicians RANDOMLY start jamming together in a public place in perfect harmony is.
If your focus was to bring music to the masses, why the need for the false pretenses?
We live in a weird world.
for that brief moment, those audience had a good time... and is good enough.... well done! do more... : )
I started to enjoy and sort of understand classical music because of TwoSet and I was also introduce to Ray Chen, this big and famous violinist, because of them.
thanks for sharing your perspective on this! i think it’s important to have both twoset’s views and yours
Petition for Ray to show us that video where they got called out by security 😂
BTS for sure!
Security probably told them please don't record it. And though they had no legal right to comply, the performers need security on their good side for future performances. Again, they may have the legal right to perform there in the future, but its always good to leave positive memories with security, secretaries and janitors.
Ray Chen You are an amazing musician and violinist, that is way it’s sounds so amazing live. ❤
Seriously...this was posted 4 hrs ago and there are 200+ comments... but Ray is so professional and incredibly courteous about this response. I also love Ray's subtle flex that he "can play vivaldi any time". Legit talent, Twoset!!
Also....I found Ray Chen through Emilio's IG post. I am super grateful for this cuz Ray is now one of my heroes and go-to inspirations on dark days.
Twoset never said Ray wasn't talented. Ray was one of the violinists Brett studied to prepare for his Mendelssohn.
The Four Seasons are considered grade-level pieces for music exams by programs such as RCM, ABRSM, LCM, etc. They aren't among the pieces that'd be played for diploma-level evaluations. So Ray saying he can play them anytime... I'd really hope so.
I have no problem with the idea that these performances are partly planned. As Ray says, it's about the enjoyment of music. My musical skills are nowhere near that level, but I use my knitting in a similar way. I knit in public to create interest in knitting, and to build connections. And I often give away what I knit, to pass on the enjoyment. Anything we can do to make the world a happier place is a good thing, whether it's planned or not.
Also, why would anyone think this kind of performance "shouldn't be allowed"? That makes no sense to me.
I like how you just calmly explained this. I am a fan of both you, Ray, and Brett and Eddy and I owe it to you all that I started taking violin lessons as an adult. I love how you share the love of classical music nowadays and share it with people online. I hope there is no bad blood between you three from now on cause I love how much joy you bring to people and see you together 😊
I don't think anyone would say public performances are not positive and impactful. Busking has a long, proud history. Love and appreciate the music, the musicians and the joy these type of videos bring.
What is lame and cringe are the fake "spontaneous duet performance " videos. The true spontaneous performances are rare and special, and these videos are busking pretending to be more than they are.
I’m glad you responded. They never recovered from your response. That’s why they are gone. 😂😜
I don't get tired of 'surprising collab of musicians on the street' type of videos. They always make me happy to see how people just can play together regardless of where. Please make more of these spontaneous performces.
One of these videos (a while ago so it's not from yours) has inspired me to write stories. Along the way, I began to be interested in trying out an instrument again. So no harm.
Go Ray!!! You're the best classical violin TH-camr on this planet!!!
Dude!! First, thanks for making this explainer about this performance practice. Second, personally, I strongly agree with the idea of bringing performance to people, in whatever form feels right. The classic idea of concert hall performances, with all the vintage trappings, as the only legit space for "classical" is being overtaken by new ideas about what makes for a performance space -- a living room, a street corner, TH-cam, TTok, a park, whatever -- as well as new ideas for stagings. RayC (and 2Set) are doing inspiring work in this area. I am seeing, around us, a cohort of world class musical artists who are opening the doors to artistic ideas that bring fresh air into a room that had started to feel stale. Besides RayC, I'm also thinking here of HH, the Metropolitan Opera, the NYCBallet, and several others of varying degrees of fame. Thanks to the work of these artists, and fun and nutty ideas like semi-impromptu public performances for YT or TT, this has become an exciting time to be a musician.
Ray, you have a beautiful spirit! Please keep inspiring people.
😊🌹 I love your playing for a number of reasons (can’t go into them here). We will be watching you live in Taiwan. 😊 Thank you for putting passionate and wonderful music in the world that touches young people too, who may never otherwise have taken notice of violin / classical music (like my nieces and nephew). ❤️🌹 With beautiful music you can transcend and nearly grace the divine, just for an imperceptible moment. But that might just be enough, you’ll need no more. It is that powerful and beautiful.
When and where will Ray perform in Taiwan?
@@ascphil You can check his website for upcoming performances.
Ray shows his qualities and class
There is nothing like seeing a couple of musician connect through playing together. I can't think of a better way of introducing people to classical.
It would be better without the lying.
@@michelleohara9981 I think anything the has a degree of editing contains potential lies, intentional or unintentional. Only listening to live music is true. This doesn't mean that editing work is without art, it's just a different type of art. It is not in the moment as live music is. And that is the space that a sense of connection or sharing communication occurs. It would be interesting to put a bunch of AI together to see if they could play together as a chamber group of somesuch.
I love Ray's final point -try everything. At times I find myself being put off a bit by videos that I see from these classical channels that strike me as cheesy or pandering but in those moments I should perhaps be seeing a positive-if every video they made appealed to my taste they would be missing a huge potential audience that responds to something different. I love seeing comments from people here that these types of videos got them interested in classical music, or kids who started playing an instrument because they love twoset's content.
The videos are great. The music is great. Why not just frame it as "hey ... I'm in the mall" ... "I'm going to meet someone" - make it a mystery ... but the various performers setting up meetings and pretending it is spontaneous is not telling the truth and totally unnecessary.
Twoset is right here. Their flash mob is perfect. And you can see the joy in that one too.
Let's just frame it as "Hey nice to meet you in reality after chatting on Viber. Let's play together and see how it goes." And let it happen. Honest - but still a nice back story.
Same joy. But real story. The real story is just as nice.
We are lucky - great music from Ray in Public
And a great public Flash Mob from Twoset which wouldn't have happened without Ray's piece.
Double the joy. But even more important - more attention for classical music.
The impact is really nice! But the lie, not so much.
In this video Ray is quite clear about what is planned and what isn't.
Problem is the clickbait "UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER OMG!!!" while the situation was 100% expected from both sides. Coincidences are awesome, but same can be said about 2 good musicians having a good time with a crowd, no need to lie about it.
this! I was looking for this comment. I really hate clickbait -_- and that is precisely the reason I don't watch those videos anymore, I don't like to be lied in the face, specially if I already know it is a lie...
True, but again it's all about reaching ppl right? Both live and online. Whatever it takes (within reason) to draw a crowd/views to classical music. Gotta sell it!! ❤ Clickbait? Maybe but the goods are there, regardless how they "met up". 😍
@@NorthCascadeshiker so you are telling musicians can't reach people without being completely honest? That's just sad...
@@Claushanga scripted doesn't mean lying, fake playing is a lie but scripted no, you can say that you don't like scripted content but that's not a lie
@@Claushanga When is lying ok?
Love your approach. Thanks Ray ❤️
I'm very happy Ray takes TwoSet called up on him really well 😂
I myself also one of person who like to know what makes Ray want to do this kind of performance, i know it was staged but it is kind of interesting to hear from professional why they want to do that, because some of musician that appear on that "staged meeting" video are also well known people in classical music that we never did hear why they want to do that kind of collaboration
Hey, Ray! You have such a lovely personality. It's awesome to see we still have people like You on this planet. Your response is high-class.
As much as I love listening to people playing music and I'd be on cloud nine if I unexpectedly heard/saw a world-class violinist like you at an airport, to be honest, I never watch those "randon surpirse piano" videos on TH-cam, because of all the cringy lies like: "we didn't expect this violinist to appear out of thin air!" It reeks of being fake, and now you confirmed that the meet is planned. I mean, it does feel like those pianists are trying to make idiots of people. That's painful to see. One thing I would love you to clarify: why do they do that, instead of calling it what it really is: a flash mob! There's nothing wrong with a flash mob! It would be more credible and would gather as many views and likes as the charade they're putting up saying: "Oh, I didn't know he was a professional musician." Like, he didn't pick up on that during the first rehearsal? Honestly, I didn't enjoy those videos to the point that I asked yt to stop recommending me that channel. Phew...
All that aside, my daughter and I admire you as a musician. My daughter loves using your app to practice playing the violin every day! It is amazing. Thank you for your positive impact on young musicians. 💖
We love you Ray! Did so good answering to TwoSetViolin’s criticism.
Its amazing to bring Music out to the public, but the thing I think most musicians find troubling, is the format of flashy titles and clickbaityness. It sounds so great by itself, it shouldn’t have to be carried by flashy remarks.
Way to go, Ray!!! You are truly a gentleman.... taking things positively. Thank you for sharing your thoughts to the public.
I'm all for flash mob style performances. The difference between that and this type of video format is that they don't pretend that the flash mob was spontaneously assembled in the moment. It's deceptive to tell people that these are impromptu and uncoordinated performances by passing musicians.
The content of these videos could nearly be unchanged but instead of saying "This world famous violinist randomly joined me." say "I collabed with this world famous violinist to surprise the crowd."
The flash mob performance is awesome and it really brings the joy to the people. I just think that's great and do not need the " pretending part " such as pretending the performance is not scripted after watching so many flash mob performances that went same way in the opening. Without that kind of opening, the performance is still awesome.
Ray, I am so proud of you! What you did these years has encouraged and inspired me a lot on music and I started playing flute again which I have given up for years. And because of you, I found my passion for music and… of course practice again❤🤣 love ya
I love how Twoset go on these videos but after making friends with the musicians they reacted to. Music really does bring everyone together.
Ok, I feel like I need to say something here, even though I usually feel very uncomfortable posting comments on the Internet.
First, I have to say I'm a fan of both Ray and TwoSet, and I have been incredibly lucky to attend their concerts-Ray's in my country (greetings from Bulgaria :) ) and TwoSet's recent show this March in Munich, Germany. Both have been incredible experiences, although I must admit, TwoSet's show has a really special place in my heart just because it's so different from anything I have seen before.
Now, to the topic-I think people on the Internet these days are incredibly touchy and see problems where there aren't any. I don't think there is anything inherently insulting in TwoSet's video, but it's good for Ray to explain a bit of the process behind these performances. I agree that sharing a positive emotion and presenting classical music in a funny way is crucial for bringing more audience to it; however, I have a few issues with this concept of "spontaneous" staged videos:
- The captions are really annoying-something that was a main point in TwoSet's video.
- We all (I hope) can tell that these videos are staged, so the whole "You wouldn't believe what is gonna happen" act is very cringey.
- If there were 5-10 videos like this, I could give them a pass. But I feel like there are thousands of this type of content, so, at least for me, the whole idea became annoying very quickly. And it's kind of sad that some of these pianists get more views from these videos rather than their concerts or more "formal" performances.
- Lastly, Ray, I'm sorry, but I have a hard time believing that so many people from the audience could be brave enough to make song requests in public IN FRONT OF A CAMERA. The mere fact that you should encourage them to do that proves that the whole thing is staged. Again, nothing wrong with that, but the way it's packaged could be...let's say, improved.
Maybe I'm biased because in my country you can barely make a critical comment without being labeled a "hater," but I feel you can still be genuine and positive without that amount of staging. But hey, that's just me-maybe I'm just old for this era of the Internet (I'm 35 now). At the end of the day, Ray is a brilliant, famous musician, these videos get millions of views, and I'm literally nobody.
Lastly, I want to make a point regarding several comments that I read here about TwoSet being lazy, not practicing, and generally implying they are not good musicians. Trust me, they are extremely good musicians. They may joke about being failures or not good enough to become soloists, but after having seen them live, I can testify with great happiness that they sound great. It's not easy to play Paganini's 24th Caprice as a second encore after an hour and a half show :)
Peace and love, everybody :)
Fantastic video response! I hope you will share even more music 🎶🎵 with all of us! Just imagine that now i dream of playing my violin with someone else in an airport ❤ . Ray, you are inspiring.
Thanks for sharing insight about what goes on behind the scenes, Ray! I've always been curious about the process. I must admit I'm quite honestly not really a fan of that format (I think it's the asinine commentary plastered through the whole thing that kills it for me 😅), but it's basically just like a little skit, and it looks like you're having tons of fun with it, which is what matters the most 🙂
Humble and positive! You are not only a wonderful musician but also a wonderful human being!
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Hope this turns about to be just some light hearted banter!
always is, twoset never beefs except against kpop stans
@@Riyoehaha yes! 😂
Twoset and Ray are friends, why would it escalate?
Thank you for bring clarity to an on going question of are some street performances planned or scripted. Beautifully explained. Stay healthy and take care.
Thank you for the clarification Ray! I love twoset just as much as I love you and I appreciate the clarification on this whole trend. I 100% agree with where you stand and I remember seeing some of the videos for the first time and loving how good all of the musicians sounded but was questioning how all of these videos were “random”. Nevertheless, I went to my trusty friends twoset and they seemed too skeptical about the whole situation bc well…they are twoset lol 😂 but either way, I am glad that you just let people enjoy the music and have fun bc that’s what’s it’s about 🥰 love you Ray!
Respect for both ray and twoset, I love the spirit!
I support Ray rational, and hope the haters understand the positive side one day.
I appreciate that he just decided to be transparent and not insult Brett and Eddy. It’s not clear to me that TwoSet’s video was in good fun but I hope it was? Like with Davie504.
I like the fact that the videos bring great classical music to the public. I hate the videos for their fraudulent claims/insinuation that they are spontaneous musical gatherings. No one should be surprised when people are not happy about being lied to. No matter what the intention of the content creators are.
Ray, thank you for this, it's very sincerely explained, I feel you did better this time than you two little "brothers". Hope this won't bring any harm to your friendship, I love you all :)
Initially I thought it would be smart for Ray to not reply. But now I think it is smarter for Ray to reply in this way
I agree with your point about a positive impact but this whole "unplanned" performance thing is still deception to a degree. I can see why a format like this is effective in attaining the purpose of music reaching as many audiences as possible but It can be very easy to lose your identity in the long-term of making videos like these. As classical musicians we must still hold pride in what we do.
Why is a bit of artifice in the service of joy such a bit deal?
@@nancyjfs I wouldn't say it's a huge deal but for me personally, it ruins these videos. It feels like the scripted events in casting shows and similar reality TV formats. Instead of just focusing on the music and the way people react to it, it tries to create 'a special moment', something spontaneous and more impressive than just two musicians who have met and practiced before performing a piece of music together. It's part of a trend of faking big moments on social media for clout and it distorts people's view on music and performances. It's not the end of the world but there's just an unpleasant aftertaste to the whole thing. We're living in a time and a culture where almost everything is fake, where everything is turned into a spectacle and where ads, influencers and social media are constantly trying to sell us some glossy version of reality that has nothing to do with the real world. I'd prefer it if classical music stayed out of that particular virtual nightmare.
@@nancyjfs I agree
I think one the best potential is that it could inspire the next generation for loving the music. Its that right? What we dream when we are children, when are so small are the things that inspired us in the future. There are lot of children in the vid
😊謝謝你的解說：無償(也許)的做了這些活動分享給我們大眾，感受到你真心想要推廣古典音樂以及小提琴給大家，真心覺得感動。
我也是因為emilio 在法國巴黎那一場看見了你，雖然其實第一眼也是因為你長的很帥氣❤🔥，不過慢慢接觸到有關你的視頻，才知道你的才華不止在你小提琴上的成就，慢慢感覺你這個人所散發出的自信與努力吸引到我，讓我們大眾更可以很輕鬆的理解以前未知的古典樂；很高興同樣身為台灣人，也很高興有台灣人在全世界發光發熱讓世界知道台灣，實在是與有榮焉。
我現在很強烈的感受到，你想用你的影響力，介紹及推廣你熱愛的東西 🤩。
你很棒!!
請記得保持睡眠、健康、笑容以及一顆良善的心到永遠~
謝謝你💯
"i most definitely can bust out Vivaldi's winter in the moment" The ultimate flex of a violinist
I actually saw one of these video and find out who's the violinist😂 and from Ray to Twosetviolin! Love how they educate me on so mamy classical music knowledge. It helped me learn violin with a more inquisitive mind at the age of 40 picking up a violin
You know what, even if everything in the Twoset’s video is true and you didn’t make this video, I still believe in you and your music. Because music is the greatest instrument, it tells us everything about the heart of people who is playing it. And everything you’ve done for music for the 35 years of your life until now has shown us how your heart is and how much you want to inspire other musicians. So, don’t be worried, just be Ray. ❤
I don’t think have script can be a problem, and most people can know the show is planned. So what? People enjoy Ray's music there, it’s enough. If I can meet Ray’s performance in station, I will be very happy at that day. ❤