"Violoncelle Français" is the DEBUT album of German recording label audite's YOUNGEST artists to date, and this release marks the beginning of an audite recording series with the Cheng² Duo. The album has received excellent reviews internationally within a short time of its recent release – listeners have been raving about "the feelings it stirs", "the human voice the cello represents", "the perfect company for long road trips", "music that one wants to go back to frequently", and "a CD worth purchasing in many ways".
Named one of CBC Music’s 2015 “30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30”, the Cheng² Duo (pronounced Cheng Squared Duo) now presents its debut album with German classical label audite. The brother-and-sister duo’s playing is steeped in a rare balance of unfiltered youthful joy and enthusiasm in their playing on one hand, and mature, historically informed, and profound interpretations on the other, commanding attention from the very first note.
This first disc makes the panorama of French chamber music for the cello and piano written between the 1860s and the 1910s come alive in all its diversity: from beloved sonatas whose composers mainly drew on the tradition of romantic composers, to modern impressionist works, to character pieces which formed part of the repertoire performed in sophisticated salons. Treasured compositions by Claude Debussy, César Franck, Gabriel Fauré, and Camille Saint-Saëns, and two additional bonus tracks (excerpts of French Baroque composer Louis Francœur’s Sonata in E Major in arrangements by Jean-Delphin Alard and Arnold Trowell) are featured.
A second recording of Spanish works for cello and piano is already being planned for August 2017.