Bryan and Sylvie Cheng

Bryan and Sylvie Cheng

Biography

Committed to bringing classical music to 21st-century audiences through innovative programming and engaging presentations, Canadian classical pianist and cellist Silvie and Bryan Cheng have been making music together for the past 13 years. In 2011, when they were called upon to replace an injured musician for a scheduled recital in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, they officially became known as Cheng² Duo, pronounced Cheng Squared Duo. The duo’s New York debut was met with an enthusiastic full-house audience, as well as critical acclaim. New York Concert Review wrote, “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”. Following that concert, the Cheng² Duo was invited back to Weill Hall for a return recital in April 2013, which included the world premiere of a pair of new Canadian works written by the Juno award-winning composer Alexina Louie to another full house.

Named by CBC Music as one of 2015’s “30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30”, the sibling duo is formed by 18-year-old cellist Bryan Cheng, a guest soloist with numerous orchestras since his debut at age 10 in Montreal with Yuli Turovsky and a prizewinner of several national music competitions, and pianist Silvie Cheng, a recent graduate from the Manhattan School of Music in New York with a Master’s Degree in Piano Performance, and the recipient of the Roy M. Rubinstein Award for “exceptional promise in piano performance”. The Cheng² Duo’s wide-ranging repertoire for the cello and piano has brought them to present recitals and performances on three continents, in notable venues throughout North America (Canada and the US), Europe (Belgium, Italy, Holland, the Czech Republic), and Asia (China and South Korea). They have performed at the Aspen Music Festival, Trasimeno Music Festival, Orford Music Festival, Ottawa Chamberfest, Festival of the Sound, CAMMAC Festival, and Festival Pontiac Enchanté, and they have been featured several times on CBC Radio, as well as on Vermont Public Radio. The duo’s Toronto recital debut, recorded live and broadcast in March 2015 on CBC Radio Two’s “In Concert” program, received this praise: “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.”