Watch a performer destroy a violin and live stream the whole thing

31 July 2018, 15:39 | Updated: 31 July 2018, 15:41

But it's not what you think – this is actually a performance of George Maciunas' avant-garde work 'Solo for Violin'

The 2018 Crested Butte Music Festival featured a musician playing a sentimental tune on a violin, then detuning the instrument before eventually sawing it in half.

It was all part of a performance of George Maciunas' work 'Solo for Violin', which contains detailed directions from the composer for exactly how to destroy the violin. 

The performance was broadcast live on the festival's Facebook page.

The festival's director Emily Ondracek-Peterson told Classic FM that the festival wanted to feature experimental works from the Fluxus movement: a style of composition that focuses on the act of performance, rather than the music that's created.

She added: “For the record, the entire outfit – violin, bow, case, extra strings, and rosin – was purchased on Amazon for $25 and was more akin to a large Christmas-tree-ornament than a violin. That the instrument made any sound was miraculous. The reactions from the viewers and comments prove that this is indeed a highly effective piece of performance art.

As you watch the performance, you can follow the score to the work here.