Meet Pluck, a fun UK-based string trio

Classical music fans invariably cringe when they see a concert hyped as ‘not boring’ – a commonly abused catchphrase – but, then, how often do we get to see a show where the violin ends up on fire? Meet Pluck, a fast-risen, UK-based string trio whose mixture of high art and broad physical comedy has dazzled audiences in Britain as well as numerous venues in Europe and Asia.

The group describes its bonkers show Musical Arson as what happens when ‘a concert goes horribly wrong in every way possible’. Each Pluck-er plays an exaggerated version of their performer’s archetype: the pompous first violinist, the bird-brained violist and the femme fatale cellist who also belts out the odd tune or two.

A typical performance might see three impeccably dressed musicians opening with the familiar Spring Concerto of Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’. As the evening progresses with Mozart’s ‘A Little Night Music’ and Ravel’s ‘Bolero’, a vocal jazz number somehow creeps into the mix along with country line-dancing, a drunken group singalong to Whitney Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love You’ and a tribute to Jimi Hendrix which ends with the aforementioned violin set ablaze – all of this delivered without missing a single note.

Pluck started life in 2002 when three musicians came together to form a street act busking on the streets of London. After huge interest from passersby, the group decided to move indoors and, since then, their rise has been meteoric. They officially debuted at the West End’s world-famous Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, then took their act to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2003, where their show sold out two weeks’ worth of performances and won the prestigious Tap Water Award for Cabaret. Soon afterwards Pluck made inroads on the international circuit, garnering rave reviews in countries as diverse as Italy, Australia, Finland and South Korea.

The Singapore performances will feature violinist Kit Massey, cellist Flora Allison and violist Brooke Day. Massey feels the show’s popularity is due to its broad appeal both to classical newbies and connoisseurs. ‘I think it’s a good way of introducing [this] music to newcomers in a fun and light-hearted way. On the other hand, people who are regular concertgoers love the fact that we are injecting fun into classical without compromising the music itself.’

Ticket-holders at Pluck’s shows straddle demographics not only when it comes to taste, but also age. ‘Our audience is always a real mixture of people, young and old. We find that children respond very well to the show as classical music is usually something they haven’t experienced much, and they love the silliness combined with the music.’

Despite their artistic and commercial success performing in mainstream venues, Massey still credits the group’s early busking experience for helping to establish rapport with theatregoers: ‘I think it really helps with audience interaction. When you are performing on the streets you have to engage your audience all the time, or they just walk off. So eye contact is essential for this. In the show we are very aware of the audience all the time.’

But in spite of criticisms that they are pandering to the masses by repackaging classical music in a more accessible format, the Pluck-ers are quick to distance themselves from other populist acts such as Bond or Il Divo – groups whose fusion of classical pieces with pop influences and sexy outfits is derided by purists, even as they enjoy enormous mainstream success.

‘All of us are classically trained musicians; rather than attempting to contemporise the music by adding dance beats and electric instruments, we play with acoustic instruments and do not change the music,’ Massey says. ‘We create a story to go with the music, and throw in a lot of clowning and silliness, adding a physical element to the musical performance.’

This story first appeared as 'As Pluck would have it'  (Jul 2011).