Portrait

As artists who are equally committed to both treasuring the old and championing the new, we believe it is high time that our latest album represented a more personal and holistic view into our musical identity. Our current discography consists of classical music from France, Spain, and Russia; with Portrait, however, we not only pay tribute to our heritage as Canadian siblings born to Chinese parents, but we also debut a selection of newly commissioned pieces for cello and piano. Inspired by our heroes such as Mstislav Rostropovich and Gregor Piatigorsky, who each collaborated with the leading composers of their time to create a wealth of repertoire we collectively enjoy today, we began commissioning works a decade ago in 2013. We feel a sincere sense of responsibility to carry on this legacy of musical evolution for the next generation of players and listeners alike, and we are proud to contribute directly to the cello-piano repertoire at large. Each of these tracks has been either written for or arranged by the two of us, and as a result, the album is a vignette of our life journey, thus far, encapsulating our grounding roots and our soaring dreams. It is our immense privilege to put these works on disc for the very first time; the two Chinese folk songs (tracks 5 and 11) have been recorded in various settings and arrangements, but never for cello and piano. Each of the four featured commissioned composers is a modern-day hero to us; furthermore, all of these composers’ families have a multi faceted cultural background stemming from a journey of immigration from Asia—just like ours. Th rough this collection of sonic snapshots, we invite you to take a deep dive into our past, present, and shared future.
— Bryan & Silvie

Track List / Pistes
1. Portrait of an Imaginary Sibling (10:40)
Dinuk Wijeratne (1978–)
2-4. Horizon Images
Vincent Ho (1975–)
I. Prairie Song (3:20)
II. Soleil diff éré (5:34)
III. Windstorm (3:18)
5. Moon’s Refl ection upon a Spring (ԫဣ碸์ / Er Quan Ying Yue) (7:37)
Hua Yanjun (1893-1950) arr. Cheng² Duo
6. Pond Mirrors Bright Sky (5:55)
Alexina Louie (1949–)
7. Wild Horse Running (4:39)
Alexina Louie
8-10. Sonata No. 1 for Cello and Piano, “Shifting Baselines”
Paul Wiancko (1983–)
I. Steady stroll – Flowing (6:42)
II. Free – Angular – Calm – Driving (7:19)
III. Glacial – Moto – Unwavering, but not too fast
– Steady stroll (9:06)
11. Racing Horses (ᩦḘ/ Sai Ma) (3:46)
Huang Haihuai (1935-1967) arr. Cheng² Du