Cheng² Duo - Russian Legends (A short story of Russian Cello Music) (2019) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

For their third audite album, the Cheng² Duo ventures to Russia. Portraying part of the cello’s musical history in Russia, Bryan and Silvie Cheng perform a programme centring on three great sonatas for cello and piano by Shostakovich, Rachmaninov and Prokofiev, which are contrasted by a series of shorter works.

​After forays to Spain and France, the Cheng2 Duo ventures to Russia for their third audite album.

The Süddeutsche Zeitung described Bryan and Silvie Cheng's last CD, dedicated to Spanish music, as an "event of austere and severe, but also dreamy beauty", and praised the siblings' interpretation for "finding the correct idiom which manages to raise the temperature". Their new double album centres on the three great sonatas for cello and piano by Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Rachmaninov and Sergei Prokofiev. The Cheng2 Duo contrasts these with a series of shorter pieces by Anton Arensky, Piotr Tchaikovsky and Alexander Glazunov. This comprehensive programme represents a short history of Russian cello music which began with the foundation of the great music conservatoires in Saint Petersburg and Moscow in the middle of the nineteenth century.

Tracklist:

DISC 1
1 Cinderella, Op. 87: Adagio: The Prince and Cinderella, Op. 97bis / Op. 97a (Arranged for Cello and Piano by Mstislav Rostropovich) 04:59
2 Sonata for Cello and Piano in C Major, Op. 119: I. Andante grave - Moderato Animato 11:11
3 Sonata for Cello and Piano in C Major, Op. 119: II. Moderato 05:01
4 Sonata for Cello and Piano in C Major, Op. 119: III. Allegro, ma non Troppo 08:24
5 Chant du ménestrel, Op. 71 / IAG 4 (Arranged for Cello and Piano by Alexander Glazunov) 03:52
6 Sonata for Cello and Piano in D Minor, Op. 40: I. Allegro non Troppo 11:50
7 Sonata for Cello and Piano in D Minor, Op. 40: II. Allegro 03:19
8 Sonata for Cello and Piano in D Minor, Op. 40: III. Largo 08:11
9 Sonata for Cello and Piano in D Minor, Op. 40: IV. Allegro 03:59

DISC 2
1 Pezzo capriccioso in B Minor, Op. 62 (Arranged for Cello and Piano by Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky) 06:39
2 Two Pieces for Cello and Piano, Op. 12 / IAA 37: I. Petite Ballade 03:04
3 Two Pieces for Cello and Piano, Op. 12 / IAA 37: II. Danse Capricieuse 04:08
4 Romance for Cello and Piano, IAS 74 02:02
5 Lied (Romance) for Cello and Piano in F Minor: Lentamente, molto Cantabile 02:18
6 Sonata for Cello and Piano in G Minor, Op. 19 / ISR 7: I. Lento. Allegro moderato. Allegro Molto 13:42
7 Sonata for Cello and Piano in G Minor, Op. 19 / ISR 7: II. Allegro Scherzando 06:37
8 Sonata for Cello and Piano in G Minor, Op. 19 / ISR 7: III. Andante 06:05
9 Sonata for Cello and Piano in G Minor, Op. 19 / ISR 7: IV. Allegro Mosso 11:26
10 14 Romances, Op. 34 / ISR 55: XIV. Vocalise. Lentamente (Arranged for Cello and Piano by Sergei Rachmaninov) 06:16
11 String Quartet No. 1, Op. 11 / TH 111 / IPT 118: II. Andante Cantabile (Arranged for Cello and Piano by Cheng² Duo) 06:58