Cheng² Duo

Conversations with Musicians, with Leah Roseman

This week’s episode is with the brilliant cello-piano ensemble, Cheng² Duo, with siblings Bryan and Silvie Cheng. They have performed to great acclaim worldwide and have released to date four fantastic albums, the most recent Portrait which was nominated for a JUNO award. Portrait features music by composers from diverse Asian heritages, and in this podcast, Bryan and Silvie reflect on some important personal experiences related to this. We are featuring some of the music from Portrait and some of their other projects in this episode, with their insights on championing living composers such as Paul Wiancko and Dinuk Wijeratne and reaching new audiences. I asked them about their Carnegie Hall debut when Bryan had just started high school, and some of their individual experiences with concert preparation, touring, and finding a life-balance. Some of what you’ll hear about are Bryan’s reflections on his memorable childhood lessons with Yuli Turovsky, the incredible opportunity he’s had to play the Bonjour Strad, and his experiences with international competitions. Silvie shared her reflections on her mentors and her life as a performer and educator in New York. Bryan and Silvie grew up in Ottawa, Canada where I live and it’s wonderful to see their careers expanding both individually and as a world-renowned chamber ensemble. Bryan spoke to us from his home in Berlin, and Silvie from her home in New York.

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Like all my episodes, you can also watch this on my YouTube and it's linked with the transcript on my website: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/cheng2-duo

https://www.cheng2duo.com/

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photo: Andrej Grilc

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(03:11) album Portrait, early pandemic in New York, Asian heritage, erhu

(12:33) Hua Yanjun Moon's Reflection upon a Spring

(20:26) anti-Asian harassment, making a difference in the world as musicians

(24:46) Paul Wiancko

(29:00) Paul Wiancko clip from Sonata 1, Part 1

(28:59) concert presentation, connecting with the audience

(31:33) Carnegie Hall debut experience, importance of commissioning new music

(35:51) Yuli Turovsky

(40:48) Romance for Cello and Piano Scriabin from Russian Legends

(42:56) could you buy this independent podcaster a coffee?

(43:32) Brazilian composers, Chiquinha Gonzaga, women composers, Silvie’s duo with violist Georgina Rossi

(45:24) Silvie’s work as a teaching artist Orto centre and Living Arts Collaborative

(50:36) family history, parents’ support

(54:08) Silvie’s mentors Jeffrey Cohen, Menahem Pressler

(57:21) learning music, comparing the analytical and intuitive

(01:01:25) Bonjour Strad cello

(01:03:07) Silvie coping with different pianos on tour, pianists’ psychology

(01:05:12) Bryan’s reflections on competitions

(01:08:46) pre-concert routines and mindset

(01:11:20) tour to India, Dinuk Wijeratne “Portrait of an Imaginary Sibling’

(01:14:27) excerpt from Dinuk Wijeratne “Portrait of an Imaginary Sibling’

(01:17:05) tour to India