CELLO ON?ITS HEAD Stjepan Hauser and Luka Šulic OF 2CELLOS, who will play at the Westport Festival of Music and Food in June.
A different level of cello
Going out
Ciara Moynihan
This is cello, but not as you know it. Croatian duo 2CELLOS take the sonorous classical instrument to a different level, blurring the boundaries between classical, rock and pop to tremendous effect. You wouldn’t think that AC/DC’s ‘Thunderstruck’ would easily translate to the cello – and doubtless pulling it off is far from easy – but cellists Stjepan Hauser and Luka Šulic make it happen. And it rocks.
Don’t believe me? Check out their YouTube videos, and then you’ll likely be counting down the days to the Westport Festival of Music and Food, when they will perform their Irish debut on Saturday, June 28.
2CELLOS first became famous back in 2011, when their rousing rendition of Michael Jackson’s ‘Smooth Criminal’ became a YouTube sensation. In the first two weeks after it was uploaded, it received over 3 million views, and over 10 million views in total.
Before the video, the cellists were struggling to make ends meet. Not so now. Soon after, they pair were signed to Sony Masterworks record label and touring the world with Elton John, opening the shows in massive arenas and stadiums and appearing at prestigious events such as the Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, and Emmys in LA. Whether they’re playing a stirring version of Nirvana’s ‘Smell’s Like Teen Spirit’ or a heart-stopping rendition of U2’s ‘With or Without You’, the sound of their two cellos, from raucous to sensuous, seems capable of filling a venue of any size.
In addition to many sold-out solo tours in US, Japan and Europe, the duo have also been the darlings of many a big TV show, from The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to The Ellen DeGeneres Show. They were also the first instrumental act to ever perform on hit series Glee, appearing as special guests in the Michael Jackson tribute episode. Unsurprisingly, invitations to collaborate have rolled in, and 2CELLOS have worked with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Queens of the Stone Age, George Michael, with producers T-Bone Burnett and Humberto Gatica and film composer James Newton Howard.
Šulic and Hauser have played the cello since childhood, and both are classically trained. Šulic graduated from the acclaimed Royal Academy of Music in London, and Hauser from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, both in 2011. Sulic won a series of top prizes at numerous prestigious international music competitions including First and Special Prize at the VII Lutoslawski International Cello Competition in Warsaw, First Prize at the European Broadcasting Union ‘New Talent’ Competition and First Prize at the Royal Academy of Music Patrons’ Award in Wigmore Hall among others.
Hauser has worked with a myriad of acclaimed classical artists, including Mstislav Rostropovich, Bernard Greenhouse, Mennahem Pressler and Ivry Gitlis, and has no less than 21 first prizes at the national and international music competitions under his belt.
Interestingly, the two were once rivals, frequently pitched against each other for hotly-contested competitions.
2CELLOS’s second album ‘IN2ITION’, was released in January 2013. It was produced by the legendary Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Deep Purple) and features an eclectic group of vocal and instrumental guests, including Elton John, Steve Vai, Lang Lang, Naya Rivera and Zucherro. Tracks include covers of AC/DC’s ‘Highway to Hell’, Coldplay’s ‘Clocks’ and Muse’s ‘Supermassive Black Hole’.
If further encouragement to check 2Cellos out at this year’s Westport Festival of Music and Food is needed, heed Sir Elton’s words: “Go and see them live, because it really is astonishing! I can’t remember seeing anything as exciting as them since I saw Jimi Hendrix live back in the ’60s.”
