Ottawa’s favourite piano-cello duo returned for their annual Chamberfest homecoming on Aug 7 at the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre for a magical night of music.

Silvie and Bryan Cheng made their debut at Chamberfest way back in 2007 at the Rising Stars showcase. This year, they once again returned with a new folk-inspired repertoire, titled Kindred Spirits, exemplifying the spirit of togetherness and community they seek to cultivate with their music. 

They began the show with Sulkhan Tsintsadze’s Five Pieces on Folk Themes for Cello and Piano.  

The first movement, titled Arobnaya, showed the full range and timbre of Bryan’s cello, especially his masterful dynamic control. Silvie’s piano was remarkably focused and emotive. 

Next came a solo cello piece titled Chonguri. This short tune offered a rare treat of playful upbeat pizzicato.

The third movement, Sachidao, was catchy, melodic and fun. The siblings spiralled around in a whirlpool of sound that had the audience tapping along. Silvie’s piano was simply glistening, and Bryan’s cello was passionate and complex.

Nana, the fourth movement, presented an exposed, raw melody that felt dark and cold. The duo came together in moments of perfect harmony.

The final movement, titled Plyasovaya, contrasted its predecessor. Bryan and Silvie echoed each other alongside a steady beat. The fast-paced, sweeping song was a fitting conclusion to Tsintsadze’s set.

Here, the Chengs took a moment to address the audience and explain the musical techniques and backgrounds of their instruments. They also expressed their gratitude to composer and University of Ottawa professor Dinuk Wijeratne. Wijeratne wrote the next song, Portrait of an Imaginary Sibling, specifically for the Cheng2 Duo.

Silvie explained that the piece could be interpreted as an imaginary third sibling. It’s meant to have a personality of its own. 

“Before Dinuk even wrote a single note, we had this conversation where we bonded over the idea of compositions of music having personalities, just like each one of us. And of course we all have multifaceted personalities,” she said.

This beautifully unique song was surely full of character. It began slowly, quietly, and cautiously. It felt deeply meaningful with each note. The Chengs were the perfect musicians for this piece, and it seemed as though they were speaking to each other through the music as they played.

Gliding from technique to technique, the music came in waves in a way that required expert precision and control. The duo made it sound like authentic self-expression as they pushed their instruments to the limit.

This song was undeniably the Chengs’ best performance of the night, and the room erupted in applause as they rose from their instruments and put their arms around each other to take a bow, complete with their matching bright smiles. The siblings then invited Wijeratne onstage to join them for another bow, much to the crowd’s delight.

The Chengs were happy to announce that their most recent album Portrait has been nominated for a Juno award, specifically “Classical Album of the Year, Small Ensemble.”  Wijeratne’s composition has also received a nomination of its own for “Classical Composition of the Year.”

Bryan and Silvie were then joined onstage by another good friend, cellist James Campbell. This year marks Campbell’s 40th anniversary as artistic director of Festival of the Sound  in Parry Sound, another festival close to the Chengs hearts. The siblings thanked Campbell and the Festival of the Sound for their support over the years. 

The trio then embarked on selections from Max Bruch’s Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano. They explained the composer intended for musicians to have free choice to mix and max the eight pieces and make them their own. The trio chose three to showcase at Chamberfest, beginning with Allegro con moto. 

This song was formal and elegantly crafted, at times sounding like a majestic waterfall. Campbell’s clarinet playing was the best of the best, capturing the vocal essence of his instrument with grace and emotion. 

The second selection was Andante con moto, a heartbreaking and evocative piece. Yearning clarinet was accompanied by soothing cello, all the while underlined by the steady pulse and richness of the piano.

Silvie’s piano was especially remarkable in this moment, evoking an image of colourful sea glass, delicate but able to withstand the test of time. 

The final movement the trio played was Allegro vivace, ma non troppo. This song was the most fun of the evening, with an amazon beat. It moved along quickly, powered by fun trills and catchy melodies. Cool echoes interspersed throughout shifted the vibe of the piece at several instances, falling back into an unexpected fade before leaping over the finish line.

After intermission, Silvie and Bryan returned to the stage as a duo, beginning with Jean Sibelius’ Romance, Op. 78, No. 2, a rare treat in the world of classical music. This piece was defined by its striking, expansive melody. It ranged from heavy to soft, at times almost like a lullaby, very soothing and down to earth.

The repertoire concluded with Edvard Grieg’s Sonata for Cello and Piano in A Minor, Op. 36. The Cheng siblings launched into the first Allegro agitato movement in a flurry of piano and jarring cello, pausing for a moment before gliding back into the music. This movement felt overwhelming at times, but soon faded back into delicacy. 

The next Andante molto tranquillo movement started off slowly. The melody sounded deeply truthful and showcased a variety of moods, from a stormy deep blue to harsh sunlight on a winter’s day. 

The Cheng siblings navigated the conclusion beautifully, almost fading into silence before finishing with the lightest notes. 

The final Allegro molto e marcato was a bright and pretty finale to the evening. Bryan and Silvie’s instruments blended together as one in a delicate dance of vivacity. They came alive in this moment in diverse pulses of rhythmic patterns. 

After an immediate standing ovation, Chamberfest’s beloved siblings were gifted hugs and flowers. After a long round of applause, they returned to the stage for an encore.

This time, said Bryan, they wanted to play something different than their usual encore material with another piece from Max Bruchs, Kol Nidrei, inspired by a Jewish Yom Kippur prayer. 

Bryan spoke about the wars in Gaza and Ukraine and encouraged the audience to reflect on what binds us as humans, namely, the power of music. 

This is the Cheng2 Duo at their very best. The song was passionate and powerful, simultaneously hearkening to the past and a step forward into the future.

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