Bryan Cheng
Kronberg Academy Professional Studies with Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, funded by the Barbara Dettmer und Dr. Dorothee Storch patronage
Following recent prize-winning successes at some of the world’s most prestigious international competitions, including Queen Elisabeth, Concours de Genève, and Paulo, Canadian-born, Berlin-based cellist Bryan Cheng has established himself as one of the most compelling young artists on the classical music scene.
He made his sold-out Carnegie Hall recital debut at age 14, his Elbphilharmonie debut aged 20 with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, and in 2022 was the first cellist to be awarded the coveted Prix Yves Paternot in recognition of the Verbier Festival Academy’s most promising and accomplished musician. He is the 2023 recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts’ Virginia Parker Prize, the nation’s highest honour for young musicians.
Recent highlights include his debut with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin at the Berliner Philharmonie in the „Debüt im Deutschlandfunk Kultur“ series (other noted artists who performed in this series at the beginning of their careers include Sir Simon Rattle, Daniel Barenboim, Jacqueline du Pré, Cecilia Bartoli, Isabelle Faust, Evgeny Kissin, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Renaud Capuçon, etc.), debuts with the Slovak and Calgary Philharmonic Orchestras, returns to the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and the National Arts Centre Orchestra Ottawa, among others.
Upcoming major debuts include the NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover (Michael Sanderling), Orchestre Métropolitain (Louis Langrée), hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt (Erina Yashima), BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, Bochumer Symphoniker, Stuttgart Kammerorchester, Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, Orquesta Reino de Aragón, Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, Presidential Symphony Orchestra Ankara, Romanian National Symphony Orchestra at Choriner Musiksommer, as well as returns to the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Cape Town Philharmonic, Johannesburg Philharmonic, Symphony Orchestra of India, Winnipeg Symphony, and I Musici de Montréal chamber orchestra, premiering a brand-new double concerto by Denis Gougeon.
In the 2023/24 and 2024/25 concert seasons, Bryan Cheng is Artist-in-Residence of the “Banatul” Philharmonic Orchestra of Timisoara, Romania, presenting several symphonic and chamber concerts in the frame of the city’s 2023 European Capital of Culture season. He takes on the same role at Switzerland's Week-End Musical de Pully 2024, featuring both of his duos in addition to performing as soloist in Gulda's Cello Concerto.
Bryan Cheng has appeared with orchestras such as the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Helsinki Philharmonic, Brussels Philharmonic, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Tapiola Sinfonietta, and with esteemed conductors such as Stéphane Denève, Martyn Brabbins, Susanna Mälkki, Alpesh Chauhan, Matthias Pintscher, Dalia Stasevska, Christian Arming, Yan-Pascal Tortelier, Giordano Bellincampi, Jonathan Darlington and Laurence Equilbey.
As member of the Cheng² Duo, CelloFellos, and as chamber musician, Bryan performs extensively across the globe. He has had the privilege of working with partners such as Gidon Kremer, Lars Vogt, Christian Tetzlaff, Angela Hewitt, Till Fellner, Viviane Hagner and Antje Weithaas.
Forthcoming recital highlights include performances with Sir András Schiff at the Verbier Festival and Wigmore Hall, debuts at the Schleswig-Holstein Musikfestival, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Kronberg Festival, Chamberfest Cleveland, Rockport Chamber Music Festival, Banff International String Quartet Festival, and returns to Heidelberger Frühling, Beethovenfest Bonn, Ottawa Chamberfest, Montréal’s Salle Bourgie, Toronto’s Walter Hall, Halifax’s Cecilia Concert Series, Kingston’s Isabel Bader Centre, Chamberfest Cheboygan, and Festival of the Sound.
Bryan has released a trilogy of critically-acclaimed albums on German label audite—Russian Legends (2019), Violonchelo del fuego (2018), and Violoncelle français (2016), and his newest recital album Portrait (2023) on Centrediscs, featuring commissioned works and own arrangements by composers of diverse Asian heritage, was nominated for 2 JUNO awards.
Bryan plays the “Dubois” Antonio Stradivarius cello, Cremona, 1699 graciously provided to him by Canimex Inc. from Drummondville (Québec). He is a recipient of the Deutschlandstipendium and has been supported by the Sylva Gelber Music Foundation with generous multiyear scholarships. He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Universität der Künste Berlin.
Since 2023, Bryan Cheng has been studying at Kronberg Academy with Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, funded by the Barbara Dettmer and Dr. Dorothee Storch patronage.
VON WIEN BIS ZUM MIDWEST
Participants
- Gidon Kremer violin
- Gary Hoffman cello
- Sir András Schiff piano
- Jason Moon violin
- Chiara Sannicandro violin
- Guido Sant’Anna violin
- Eike Coetzee viola
- Katie Liu viola
- Laura Liu viola
- Otoha Tabata viola
- Bryan Cheng cello
- Sebastian Fritsch cello
- Julius Asal piano
Programme
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
Piano quartet No. 1 in g minor KV 478
Guido Sant’Anna (violin)
Otoha Tabata (viola)
Sebastian Fritsch (cello)
Sir András Schiff (piano)
John Harbison (* 1938)
„November 19, 1828“ for string trio and piano
Gidon Kremer (violin)
Katie Liu (viola)
Bryan Cheng (cello)
Julius Asal (piano)
Intermission
Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904)
String quintet No. 3 in E flat major op. 97
Chiara Sannicandro, Jason Moon (violin)
Laura Liu, Eike Coetzee (viola)
Gary Hoffman (cello)
Subject to change.
ROMANTISCHE GIPFEL
Participants
- Gary Hoffman cello
- Sir András Schiff piano
- Leonhard Baumgartner violin
- Sarah Jégou-Sageman violin
- Michael Shaham violin
- Toby Cook viola
- Laura Liu viola
- Bryan Cheng cello
- Macintyre Taback cello
Programme
Robert Schumann (1810–1856)
Piano trio No. 3 in g minor op. 110
Sarah Jégou-Sageman (violin)
Bryan Cheng (cello)
Sir András Schiff (piano)
Intermission
Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
String sextet No. 2 in G major op. 36
Michael Shaham, Leonhard Baumgartner (violin)
Laura Liu, Toby Cook (viola)
Gary Hoffman, Macintyre Taback (cello)
Subject to change.
HIMMELSMUSIK
Participants
- Antje Weithaas violin
- Enrico Pace piano
- Evan Johanson violin
- Oliver Neubauer violin
- Guido Sant’Anna violin
- Edgar Francis viola
- Otoha Tabata viola
- Maxim Calver cello
- Bryan Cheng cello
- Chase Park cello
Programme
Ernst Von Dohnányi(1877–1960)
Piano quintet No. 1 in c minor op. 1
Oliver Neubauer, Evan Johanson (violin)
Edgar Francis (viola)
Bryan Cheng (cello)
Enrico Pace (piano)
Intermission
Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
String quintet in C major D 956
Antje Weithaas, Guido Sant’Anna (violin)
Otoha Tabata (viola)
Chase Park, Maxim Calver (cello)
Subject to change.
Wigmore Hall London I
Participants
- Bryan Cheng cello
- Alexander Warenberg cello
- Jérémie Moreau piano
Programme
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Cello Sonata L135
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Violin Sonata in A major K305
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Cello Sonata in D major Op. 102 No. 2
Subject to change.
Wigmore Hall London II
Participants
- Sarah Jégou-Sageman violin
- Bryan Cheng cello
- Alexander Warenberg cello
- Jérémie Moreau piano
- Sir András Schiff piano
Programme
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Violin Sonata in G minor
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Piano Trio No. 3 in G minor Op. 110
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Piano Trio in B flat Op. 97 'Archduke'
Subject to change.