Cheng2 Duo

Soloists and Duos  

Rooted by a sibling bond that transcends the familial, the Cheng² Duo (pronounced Cheng Squared Duo) transfixes listeners through its impassioned expressivity and contagious joy – critics have hailed their performances as “brilliant” (The Sunday Times, UK), “truly exhilarating” (The...

Rooted by a sibling bond that transcends the familial, the Cheng² Duo (pronounced Cheng Squared Duo) transfixes listeners through its impassioned expressivity and contagious joy – critics have hailed their performances as “brilliant” (The Sunday Times, UK), “truly exhilarating” (The WholeNote, Canada), and “absolutely captivating…through a tremendous mastery of their instruments” (Pizzicato Magazine, Luxembourg).

Cellist Bryan Cheng, prizewinner of the 2022 Queen Elisabeth Competition and Verbier Festival’s coveted Prix Yves Paternot, and pianist Silvie Cheng, 2022-23 Cecilia Concerts Musician-in-Residence and National Arts Club Artist Fellow, have been making music together for nearly their entire lives. Since officially forming the Cheng² Duo at their 2011 Carnegie Weill Recital Hall debut, their artistry has left lasting impressions across the globe, with extensive tours to illustrious concert halls and international festivals throughout North America, Europe, Asia and South Africa.

In the 2023/24 season, the duo will appear as guest soloists with the Banatul Philharmonic (Romania), embark on multi-week tours in Canada and South Africa, and present recitals in Switzerland and the US. Recent highlights include recitals at the Frauenkirche Dresden, Flagey (Brussels), Munich Künstlerhaus, California Center for the Arts, Dame Myra Hess Series (Chicago), Chamber Music at the Clark (Los Angeles), Harvard University (Cambridge), Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts (Kingston), Orford Musique, Salle Bourgie (Montréal), Palais Montcalm (Québec), as well as Chamberfest Cheboygan, Ottawa Chamberfest, and Toronto Summer Music Festivals. Past performances and interviews have been broadcast on CBC Radio, ICI Musique, Radio-Canada International, Vermont Public Radio, WCRB Classical Music Boston, WCNY Classic FM, Kulturradio RBB and Südwestrundfunk (SWR2) Germany, ORF Austria, and Classical Radio Orpheus (Moscow).

In the vanguard of creative programming, Bryan and Silvie are equally committed to presenting traditional masterworks, rediscovering neglected repertoire, and championing the music of their time. Since 2013, they have commissioned and arranged 15 new works, as well as curated cross-disciplinary concert experiences that meld classical and contemporary music with jazz, poetry, and visual/media arts. World-class collaborative partners have included photographer and cinematographer Edward Burtynsky, Mercury Films, and multimedia studio Normal.

Cheng² Duo has previously released a trilogy of critically-acclaimed albums on the German label audite: Russian Legends (2019), Violonchelo del fuego (2018), and Violoncelle français (2016). Their fourth and newest album, Portrait, a collection of world-premiere works written for or arranged by them, was released on Centrediscs in October 2023. Born in Ottawa and Tokyo to Chinese parents, Bryan and Silvie are proud Canadians who are currently based in Berlin and New York City.

© Andrej Grilc

Projects

Unravelling Ravel

Night at the Museum

Reviews

On their album Portrait, released by Centrediscs:
A hypnotic and ethereal album that perfectly illustrates their ease and generous verve.

— La Scena Musicale

Highly original, captivatingly played, sonically opulent! ★★★★★

— Pizzicato Magazine

The New York recital debut of Bryan and Silvie Cheng was infused with a spirit of thoughtfulness and generosity. The obvious affection between the two siblings extends beyond the familial sphere into the audience, and most importantly, into the music itself.

— New York Concert Review

The Cheng² Duo digs deep under the virtuoso fireworks to find the inner life of each work in their varied repertoire. While they certainly display impeccable technique, there’s much more to good music than that and this pair of artists have a great gift for coaxing the music off the page and into vivid life

— Large Stage Live! (Canada)

Silvie Cheng’s hands glide from key to key, she weaves a sound carpet full of filigree patterns and spreads it out under the playing of her brother. Bryan Cheng storms up the scales sure-footedly, then prances triumphantly on the summit…he makes a dazzling appearance…one suspects that these two will be big successes.

— Fono Forum (Germany)

Highly eloquent performances that show the talent of the Canadian Cheng² Duo. Extremely imaginative and personal interpretation.

— Pizzicato Magazine (Luxemburg)

We are impressed! By the maturity and perfection of the cello-piano duo Cheng², the musical sensitivity of the two musicians…we hear a carefully-weighed chamber music teamwork, which nevertheless does not shy away from extremes in terms of dynamics and expression. All these pieces are presented with so much taste, sure flair for phrasing, and beauty of sound.

— Das Orchester (Germany)

About their album Russian Legends
There is drama, even theatre in these interpretations. Russian music is full of twists, contrasts and emotional changes. Cheng² Duo plays with elegance and panache, but also with impressive sound power. We note especially the solid discursive architecture built by the two young artists… Like the performances, the program oscillates between powerfully incarnated lyricism, biting irony, sardonic humour, affective tenderness and airy sweetness.

— ICI Musique (Canada)

Videos

Portrait of an Imaginary Sibling (D. Wijeratne)

H. Haihuai - Racing Horses (赛马 / Sai Ma)

L. van Beethoven - Sonata No. 2

Andante (III) from Cello Sonata

Allegro (II) from Cello Sonata

Violonchelo del fuego

Violoncelle français

Nadia Boulanger - Three Pieces for Cello and Piano

L. van Beethoven - Sonata No. 5

Paris, la Belle Époque (F. Poulenc, Cello Sonata - Ballabile)

G. Cassadó - Requiebros

Photos

© Andrej Grilc
© Andrej Grilc
© Andrej Grilc
© Andrej Grilc
© Harald Hoffman
© Harald Hoffmann
© Harald Hoffmann
© Harald Hoffmann
© Harald Hoffmann
© Nikolaj Lund

Calendar

April

16 April 2024
21 April 2024

Cheng2 Duo - Mooredale Concerts

Toronto, Ontario, Canada
27 April 2024

Cheng2 Duo - Espace DCL - L'Anglicane

Lévis, Québec, Canada
28 April 2024

Cheng2 Duo - Centre culturel

Beloeil, Québec, Canada

August

9 August 2024
30 August 2024

Contacts

Agent Canada and United States   Annick-Patricia Carrière 1 514-529-5717