After forays to Spain and France, the Cheng2 Duo ventures to Russia for their third audite album. The Süddeutsche Zeitung described Bryan and Silvie Cheng’s last release, dedicated to Spanish music, as an “event of austere and severe, but also dreamy beauty”, and praised the siblings’ interpretation for “finding the correct idiom which manages to raise the temperature”. Their new double album centers on the three great sonatas for cello and piano by Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Rachmaninov and Sergei Prokofiev. The Cheng2 Duo contrasts these with a series of shorter pieces by Anton Arensky, Piotr Tchaikovsky and Alexander Glazunov. This comprehensive programme represents a short history of Russian cello music which began with theRead more foundation of the great music conservatoires in Saint Petersburg and Moscow in the middle of the nineteenth century. Cellist Bryan Cheng is hailed internationally for his “absolutely astonishing” (La Presse, Montréal) command of the cello, and “abundant facility, innate musicality, and sense of joy” (New York Concert Review). He made his solo debut at age 10 with the Orchestre de chambre I Musici de Montréal, his Carnegie Hall recital debut at 14, and most recently, his Elbphilharmonie solo debut with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and conductor Joshua Weilerstein in 2018. Lauded for her “extraordinarily varied palette” (WholeNote Magazine) and “purely magical” playing (New York Concert Review), pianist Silvie Cheng illuminates musical works with her exquisite touch at the keyboard. Since her Carnegie Hall solo debut in 2011, she has performed as both soloist and collaborative pianist across the globe. As guest soloist with orchestra, Silvie most recently made her debut with the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra in 2018 and will debut with Symphony Nova Scotia in the 2019-20 season. Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
Pieces (10) from Cinderella for Piano, Op. 97: no 2, Adagioby Sergei Prokofiev Performer:
Silvie Cheng (Piano),
Bryan Cheng (Cello)
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Cheng2 Duo
Period: 20th Century Written: 1943; USSR Notes: arr. M. Rostropovich for cello and piano
2.
Sonata for Cello and Piano in C major, Op. 119by Sergei Prokofiev Performer:
Silvie Cheng (Piano),
Bryan Cheng (Cello)
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Cheng2 Duo
Period: 20th Century Written: 1949; USSR
3.
Chant du ménéstrel, Op. 71by Alexander Glazunov Performer:
Silvie Cheng (Piano),
Bryan Cheng (Cello)
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Cheng2 Duo
Written: 1900 Notes: (version for cello and piano)
4.
Sonata for Cello and Piano in D minor, Op. 40by Dmitri Shostakovich Performer:
Silvie Cheng (Piano),
Bryan Cheng (Cello)
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Cheng2 Duo
Period: 20th Century Written: 1934; USSR
5.
Pezzo capriccioso for Cello and Orchestra in B minor, Op. 62by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Performer:
Silvie Cheng (Piano),
Bryan Cheng (Cello)
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Cheng2 Duo
Period: Romantic Written: 1887; Russia Notes: (version for cello and piano)
6.
Pieces (2) for Cello and Piano, Op. 12by Anton Arensky Performer:
Silvie Cheng (Piano),
Bryan Cheng (Cello)
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Cheng2 Duo
Period: Romantic Written: Russia
7.
Romanceby Alexander Scriabin Performer:
Silvie Cheng (Piano),
Bryan Cheng (Cello)
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Cheng2 Duo
Period: Romantic Written: 1894; Russia Notes: arr. for cello and piano
8.
Romance for Cello and Piano in F minorby Sergei Rachmaninov Performer:
Silvie Cheng (Piano),
Bryan Cheng (Cello)
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Cheng2 Duo
Period: Romantic Written: 1890; Russia
9.
Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor, Op. 19by Sergei Rachmaninov Performer:
Silvie Cheng (Piano),
Bryan Cheng (Cello)
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Cheng2 Duo
Period: Romantic Written: 1901; Russia
10.
Songs (14), Op. 34: no 14, Vocaliseby Sergei Rachmaninov Performer:
Silvie Cheng (Piano),
Bryan Cheng (Cello)
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Cheng2 Duo
Period: Romantic Written: 1912-1915; Russia Notes: arr. for cello and piano
