The hit series “Bridgerton” has set off a string-quartet boom

PITBULL DOES not make the kind of music you would describe as romantic. Listeners are unlikely to swoon when they hear the American rapper’s lyrics, such as “I’m the plumber tonight / I’ll check yo’ pipes.” And yet when a couple start kissing in a horse-drawn carriage in the new season of “Bridgerton”—which debuted on Netflix on May 16th—they do so to a cover of Pitbull’s “Give Me Everything” played by a string quartet. Remove the braggadocio lyrics, add staccato violins and a song can go from gross to engrossing.

With vibrant costumes and focus on the marriage market, “Bridgerton” positions itself as a modern period drama. Viewers have spent almost 1bn hours watching the first season, and nearly 800m with the second, according to Netflix. The series has sent internet searches for corsets and wisteria soaring. It has also made string quartets more fashionable than they have been in centuries.

The soundtrack sets the tone for the show’s blend of old and new sensibilities. It is full of classical crossovers, with string renditions of songs by Ariana Grande, Harry Styles and Taylor Swift. Vitamin String Quartet (VSQ), who perform many of the show’s tracks, saw a surge in popularity after “Bridgerton” arrived in 2020. Before the show’s premiere, total fortnightly streams amounted to 3.8m, but they jumped 350% after it. Interest has stayed high, says Leo Flynn, the group’s brand manager: some of their most popular songs have more than 20m streams apiece. VSQ recently announced plans for a tour of more than 40 cities across America.

According to a survey by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, people are more interested in going to events that merge classical music and pop than almost any other kind of orchestral concert. (They ranked second in 2023, up from sixth in 2018.) Fever, an entertainment-booking platform, has been organising string-quartet concerts by candlelight since 2019. It now holds events in more than 150 cities worldwide, many of them with pop music, and they have been attended by 3m people.

Just as such reinterpretations provide the backdrop to courtships in “Bridgerton”, they are popular choices for weddings, too. Betrothed couples have long booked string quartets, but many now forgo Bach for Beyoncé. Lucy Gijsbers, the founder of London Strings, a quartet for hire, says that around 40% of clients “specifically request ‘Bridgerton’-style music” as something “both classy and up-to-date”.

The show is not the first pop-culture sensation to influence fans’ preferences. “The Queen’s Gambit”, a mini-series released in 2020, made chess cool for a time. Fans of the “Top Gun” films in 1986 and 2022 felt the need for speed—and the need to buy a pair of Ray-Ban aviators. “Challengers”, a new romance drama about professional athletes, has popularised a #TennisCoreAesthetic, which includes short pleated skirts and sleeveless sweaters.

Some music purists may sniff, but modern tunes help to demystify a rarefied art form and bring in younger audiences. If “Bridgerton” continues to hit a high note, it might just have a harmonious effect on the classical-music sector as a whole. ■