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Classical Quartet Gets All Twisted

A German quartet calling themselves the Salut Salon is surging in social media right now with a bout of one-upwomanship that mixes together music, acrobatics and some good slapstick timing.

Classical comedy isn't new, of course. Just for starters, there's Igudesman and Joo (whom we've had perform in our Washington studio), Mnozil Brass, P.D.Q. Bach and, going back a few decades, Victor Borge.

But in this age of viral videos, Salut Salon's mash-up of Vivaldi, Mozart, Kurt Weill and the Mission Impossible theme is delighting global viewers — to the tune of more than 2 million YouTube hits so far. All we can say is: Keep up that flexibility, ladies, though the cellist may want to look into some Alexander technique. She looks like she's in a lot of pain much of the time. Yeowch.

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Anastasia Tsioulcas is a correspondent on NPR's Culture desk. She is intensely interested in the arts at the intersection of culture, politics, economics and identity, and primarily reports on music. Recently, she has extensively covered gender issues and #MeToo in the music industry, including the trial and conviction of former R&B superstar R. Kelly; backstage tumult and alleged secret deals in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against megastar singer Plácido Domingo; and gender inequity issues at the Grammy Awards.