TwoSet Violin NY Times

In an interview, Chen and Yang confirmed they were finished with TwoSet Violin, though they said they would likely continue to work together. They said they were increasingly worn out by the demands of creating more than 100 videos each year. And, with 4.3 million subscribers on YouTube, they said, they were growing tired of the scrutiny.
“We’ve said all that we wanted to say,” Yang said. “It felt like I had 50-kilo weights on my shoulders for the last 11 years, just trying to please people and be the best that we can.”
Chen and Yang, who have made a habit of reading comments on their work, said they felt like they were under a microscope. At times, they were stung by criticisms of their personalities, music and style.
“Sometimes social media becomes this question of, ‘Who’s the next person for us to all hate on?’” Chen said. “We needed a break.”
As part of their farewell, Chen and Yang are planning to release six videos in which they play members of a band of composers called B²TSM. (Inspired by South Korean pop, or K-pop, the band’s name stands for Bach, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich and Mozart.)
In the first video, titled “I’m Bach,” released on Thursday, Chen, as Bach, finds himself dismayed by modern music. He raps:
Chen described the videos as a final gift to fans: “our blood, sweat and tears.”
“We’re showing what TwoSet has meant to us through our art, in the same way a composer shares how they feel through their music,” he said. “To us that feels very meaningful.”
[...]
In 2021, during pandemic lockdowns, Chen and Yang produced a virtual tour, performing a show about going back in time to save classical music.
Then, in the 2023-24 season, they went on a 39-city tour, appearing at some of the world’s top concert halls. At the Philharmonie in Berlin, a fan threw a bra onstage.
But their grueling schedule began to take a toll. During a vacation in Japan earlier this year, Chen and Yang found themselves tied to their desks. They reached what they described as a mutual decision to move on.
“It’s exciting to question yourself and challenge yourself sometimes,” Chen said, “and not just do things purely out of inertia.”
On why they did not explain anything and deleting their videos:
They did not want to post a trite video explaining their decision, they said, and resolved instead to make the B²TSM videos as their send-off.
“I would much rather give all of you our best in these music videos than give you a nice, kind, seems-authentic video,” Yang said. “I'd rather let your dreams and fantasies run free.”
For the B²TSM videos, which are lavishly produced, the duo filmed in Hong Kong, Thailand and Austria. They worked with Hong Kong Ballet to record a video about Tchaikovsky. In Austria, they produced “Papa Wolfgang Style,” a Mozart-themed video, at the Eckartsau palace. They also filmed at Vienna’s storied Musikverein concert hall.
Chen and Yang said they did not know what would come next, though they said it was possible they would perform again as B²TSM, which they introduced in 2022.
“It would be stupid to throw this all way,” Yang said, “after all the ups and downs we’ve been through together.”
Chen agreed. “I’m pretty useless in some areas of life without Brett,” he said.
To the fans disappointed by their decision, they offered a simple response.
“Go practice,” Yang said. “There are no excuses anymore.”