Watch ‘crazy violinist’ perform Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake in a tutu

17 January 2020, 12:12 | Updated: 17 January 2020, 12:21

By Helena Asprou

Italian violinist Salvatore Lombardo is well known for his entertaining videos – and for this airborne solo from Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet, he really gets into character...

When it comes to classical performances, violinist Salvatore Lombardo certainly likes to break the mould.

Also known to his online fans as ‘crazy violinist’, the Italian virtuoso enjoys nothing more than finding the fun in music – and this humorous video of him playing Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake in a tutu (watch above) is giving us all life.

At first, Lombardo treats us to a few bars of his best vibrato from the popular 1875 ballet, but of course, all is not what it seems.

As he moves away from the camera, his bright pink tutu (and matching accessories, how fancy) are revealed as he begins frolicking around the room with his violin.

Salvatore Lombardo performs Swan Lake in a tutu
Salvatore Lombardo performs Swan Lake in a tutu. Picture: Salvatore Lombardo

His pliers and pirouettes definitely had us amused, but the inspiration behind his recording highlights an issue in the classical world.

He told Classic FM: “In Italy, the world of classical music suffers because the Italian State wants to save money.

“I thought that in orchestra, the concertmeister has to dance to save the cost of dancers.”

By using humour in his video, the ‘crazy violinist’ not only hopes to share his love of music, but also send out an important message to his followers.

And just because we love to share the joy, here are a few other videos he made earlier:

For more brilliant videos by Salvatore, visit his page on Facebook.