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Cheng² Duo Explores the Intersection of Asian Identity and Western Classical Music on “Portrait”
« Following three albums full of well-trod classical repertoire for cello and piano, Cheng² Duo’s Portrait (2023, Centrediscs) is a refreshing collection of commissions and world premiere recordings that boldly embodies the sounds and symbolic coming together of multiple heritages. The commissioned composers – Dinuk Wijeratne, Vincent Ho, Alexina Louie, and Paul Wiancko – offer works that draw inspiration from their diverse Asian ancestry, as well as their training in Western classical composition. Throughout the album, siblings Bryan and Silvie Cheng persuasively portray Eastern instruments, sonic gestures, and musical imagery on their instruments, which are strongly rooted in Western European music traditions.
Dinuk Wijeratne based his Portrait of an Imaginary Sibling on the Scherzo from Beethoven’s Cello Sonata No. 3; the whole piece unfolds in a Beethovenian manner, with the entire fabric of the composition tied up in its fundamental motifs. Wijeratne recasts the offbeat rhythm and ornamented melody of the Scherzo in a quick, dancelike groove, and Cheng² Duo presents the work with great authority, driving toward a dramatic conclusion. Unfortunately, the slow introduction is given a similar sense of forward feeling, losing the necessary contrast between sections and the suggestive mysticism that could have been achieved with a more improvisatory approach. Nevertheless, the duo’s bold sound and unapologetically intense musical gestures create a compelling interpretation… »
Buy Cheng² Duo’s Portrait here.
