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Angela Cheng

PIANIST

“Angela Cheng is quite simply one of the best Mozart concerto players around: her sound is invariably transparent and marked by delicacy of feeling. That it always carries, even in a large hall like the Orpheum, is a bit of inexplicable magic.”

 

VANCOUVER SYMPHONY

VANCOUVER SUN

BIOGRAPHY

Consistently praised for her brilliant technique, tonal beauty, and superb musicianship, Canadian pianist Angela Cheng is one of her country’s national treasures. In addition to regular guest appearances with virtually every orchestra in Canada, she has performed with the symphonies of Saint Louis, Houston, Indianapolis, Colorado, Utah, San Diego and Jacksonville, as well as the philharmonic orchestras of Buffalo, Louisiana, Rhode Island, London, Israel and Minas Gerais in Brazil. Recent performances include a debut with the Fort Worth Symphony, performing Rachmaninoff’s “Variations on a Theme of Paganini,” under the baton of Robert Spano, and a return to the Vancouver Symphony, performing Ravel’s Concerto in G with Otto Tausk. Next season will include the Boulder Philharmonic, Newfoundland Symphony, Okanagan Symphony, Saskatoon Symphony, Saguenay Symphony and the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas. Angela Cheng has performed recitals and concertos at Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center/Washington, D.C., the 92nd Street Y/New York and Wigmore Hall in London. As a member of the Zukerman Trio and Chamber Players, she has also appeared at the Musikverein/Vienna, the Concertgebouw/Amsterdam, Teatro Colon/Buenos Aires, Mariinsky Concert Hall/St. Petersburg and the Sydney Opera House. Festival appearances include Verbier, Edinburgh, Miyazaki, Stars of the White Nights/St. Petersburg and the George Enescu Festival in Romania. Angela Cheng also appears regularly on recital series throughout the United States and Canada and has collaborated with the Takács, Colorado, and Vogler quartets. North American festival performances include Banff, Chautauqua, Colorado, Great Lakes Chamber Music, Vancouver, Toronto and the Festival International de Lanaudière in Quebec. Ms. Cheng has been invited to give masterclasses throughout North America and in Asia, including the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts, Taichung University in Taiwan, Indiana University, University of Michigan and the University of Texas. She has also served on the jury of many competitions, including the Cleveland International Piano Competition, Esther Honens International Piano Competition, Montreal International Piano Competition, and the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, among others. Angela Cheng has been Gold Medalist of the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Masters Competition, as well as the first Canadian to win the prestigious Montreal International Piano Competition. Other awards include the Canada Council’s coveted Career Development Grant and the Medal of Excellence for outstanding interpretations of Mozart from the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. A native of Hong Kong, Ms. Cheng studied extensively with Menahem Pressler at Indiana University and with Sascha Gorodnitzki at The Juilliard School. She is currently on the artist faculty of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where she was honored with the 2011-12 Excellence in Teaching Award.

RECORDINGS

Mozart-Piano Concerto No. 17 in G Major, K. 453-AndanteAngela Cheng
00:00 / 11:25
Schumann-Piano Concerto in A Minot, Op. 7-Allegro maestosoAngela Cheng
00:00 / 06:34
Chopin-Preludes, Op. 28-16. Presto con fuocoAngela Cheng
00:00 / 01:10
Chopin-Preludes, Op. 28-23. ModeratoAngela Cheng
00:00 / 00:53
Angela Cheng

Angela Cheng

PRESS ACCLAIM

VANCOUVER SYMPHONY

 

“Angela Cheng is quite simply one of the best Mozart concerto players around: her sound is invariably transparent and marked by delicacy of feeling. That it always carries, even in a large hall like the Orpheum, is a bit of inexplicable magic.”

VANCOUVER SUN

 

 

NEWFOUNDLAND SYMPHONY

 

“I have seldom seen a soloist so well prepared, so integrated into a concerto as Cheng… Moreover, she made the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 look easy, as she effortlessly and accurately played chordal passages at high speed… [She] gave great definition to the work, shaping each phrase, lending it color, taking their time with the cadences.”

 

THE TELEGRAM (St. John’s, Canada)

 

 

PACIFIC SYMPHONY

 

“Cheng proved a marvelous technician and stylist. [She] fully comprehended the jazz rhythms and accents and put them across with equal parts verve and clarity. She skimmed a gliding legato, jabbed at offbeat entrances, had a bounce in her step." [Gershwin Piano Concerto in F]

ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER (Costa Mesa)

 

 

LOUISIANA PHILHARMONIC

 

“[Angela Cheng’s] lofty transcendent account of Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor deserved some kind of medal … offering a performance that let one forget her virtuosity and hear Schumann’s masterpiece as a brilliant dance between soloist and orchestra.”

 

TIMES-PICAYUNE (New Orleans)

 

 

WINNIPEG SYMPHONY

 

“The opening Allegro maestoso immediately showcased Cheng's sparkling runs and rhythmic vitality. Her projected tone reached the very back of the hall … her fiery solo cadenza provided a real taste of her bravura… Cheng's clearly articulated playing, and strong conviction with every note tidily in place led to a standing ovation with two curtain calls." [Mozart Piano Concerto No. 25]

WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

 

 

TORONTO RECITAL

 

“More important is the musical evidence that [Cheng] is now speaking not with the voice of generic virtuosity and conventional received wisdom, but with her own voice, about individual works in which she is passionately and artistically involved… It was enthralling.”

 

GLOBE AND MAIL (Toronto)

REPERTOIRE LIST

ALBÉNIZ

Spanish Rhapsody

 

BEETHOVEN

All concerti

 

BRAHMS

Concerto No. 1

 

CHOPIN

Concerti Nos. 1 and 2

Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise

 

de FALLA

Nights in the Gardens of Spain

 

GERSHWIN

Concerto in F

Rhapsody in Blue

 

GRIEG

Concerto

 

HAYDN

Concerto in D

 

LISZT

Concerto No. 1

 

MENDELSSOHN

Concerto No. 1

 

MONTSALVATGE

Concerto Breve

MOZART

All concerti

 

RACHMANINOFF

Concerti Nos. 1, 2 and 3

Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

 

RAVEL

Concerto in G

 

SAINT-SAËNS

Concerti Nos. 2, 4 and 5

Carnival of the Animals

 

SCHUMANN, C.

Concerto

 

SCHUMANN, R.

Concerto

Introduction and Allegro

 

SHOSTAKOVICH

Concerti Nos. 1 and 2

 

STRAUSS

Burleske in D Minor

 

TCHAIKOVSKY

Concerto No. 1

 

TOWER

Rapids

 

TURINA

Rapsodia Sinfónica

DISCOGRAPHY

CHOPIN                     

Polonaise-Fantasie, Op. 61                             

Preludes, Op. 28

Grande Polonaise brillante in E-flat major with preceding Andante spianato in G major, Op. 22

Universal Music Canada 

 

 

MOZART                   

Piano Concerti K. 271 ("Jeunehomme") and K. 453      

CBC Vancouver Orchestra

Mario Bernardi, conductor

CBC Records 

 

 

SCHUMANN, Clara          

Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 7              

The Women's Philharmonic

JoAnn Falletta, conductor

Koch International Classics 

 

 

SCHUMANN, Clara and Robert           

Piano Music of Clara and Robert Schumann                  

CBC Records

 

 

SHOSTAKOVICH    

Piano Concerti Nos. 1 and 2        

with Jens Lindemann, trumpet                                      

CBC Radio Orchestra                                       

Mario Bernardi, conductor                                       

CBC Records 

 

 

Works of Spanish composers

Nights in the Gardens of Spain                                          

Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra

Hans Graf, conductor

CBC Records

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