"In Haydn's Cello Concerto in C major, which Bryan Cheng performed as soloist in this concert, the world of Viennese Classicism shaped by Mozart and Haydn comes to life. Cheng, wearing a striking golden-yellow blazer, was also a real eye-catcher that evening and shone during the cadenza of the piece, which turned into a brief but wild improvisation. Thunderous applause at the end. The young musician even added a short encore."
Timo Lechner, Sonntagsblatt, May 2025 - about Bryan Cheng's debut at Mozartfest Würzburg performing Haydn's Cello Concerto in C major with the Prague Philharmonia and Oscar Jockel
"Cheng then joined the Orchestre symphonique de Laval to perform Marie Jaëll’s Cello Concerto, a forgotten work that the cellist wished to introduce to the audience. Over the course of this 16-minute piece, I was especially struck by the consistent eye contact Cheng maintained with the conductor and with concertmaster Antoine Bareil. This connection gave me—and surely the rest of the audience—the impression of strong synergy between the soloist and the orchestra.
Overall, Cheng’s playing was simply sublime. One could see in his expression how deeply engaged he was with the music. He displayed great command not only of his instrument, but also of the score...In the final movement, the rapid, fiery triplets from the solo cello were exquisite."
Dwain Richardson, Ludwig Van, May 2025 - about Bryan Cheng's performance of Marie Jaëll's Cello Concerto with the Orchestre symphonique de Laval and Andrei Feher
"As for Marie Jaëll’s Cello Concerto....the opening clearly nods to Wagner, the refrain of the second movement is appealing, and the third takes on a more distinctly French character, ending with a very effective coda...Bryan Cheng, who performed it with great verve and a magnificent sound, earned sustained applause."
Christophe Huss, Le Devoir, May 2025 - about Bryan Cheng's performance of Marie Jaëll's Cello Concerto with the Orchestre symphonique de Laval and Andrei Feher
"Canadian cellist Bryan Cheng could teach foreign diplomats a thing or two about making an instant positive impression....This was followed by Cheng, who brought the introspection of Elgar´s Cello Concerto to the fore. The BBC NOW musicians provided sensitive accompaniment, allowing the dialogue between soloist and orchestra to unfold with natural fluidity....He then further endeared to the locals with an impromptu encore, something seemingly prepared on the spot: a fusion of the traditional Welsh lullaby Suo Gân with Canadian bluegrass."
Mark Rees, Western Mail, April 2025 - about Bryan Cheng´s performance of Elgar's Cello Concerto with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales
"Having garnered some of the most prestigious awards the planet has to offer, the musician, who is not quite 30, played the four-movement Elgar Concerto with the depth and maturity of an older artist, but with all the flair and showmanship of his youth...The attributes of Cheng are numerous: extreme sensitivity to the subtle nuances of the score, amazingly soft pianissimos that had this listener leaning forward to make sure he was still playing, to full-blown passionate out-pourings of emotion. He is also a performer who is fun to watch. Often playing off the first violinists in kind of a back-and-forth competition, his smiles showed his delight in this opportunity to share the music with the audience (and orchestra). Throughout, Tipton kept the orchestra perfectly in sync with the soloist, and the audience was obviously taken with this young man’s musicality.
As the applause died down, Cheng explained that he not only loved classical music but also music from other genres. He proceeded to perform a wildly careening piece, “Julie-O” by Mark Summer, which included some of the fastest plucking I have ever heard on a cello as well as what would be called bluegrass “fiddling,” (but, of course, it was on the cello). The whole piece was a delight and provided a perspective on Cheng’s breadth of interest."
Timothy Lindeman, Cultural Voice of North Carolina, March 2025 - about Bryan Cheng's performance of Elgar's Cello Concerto with the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra under Chelsea Tipton
"On this evening, violinist Charlotte Thiele, violist Karolina Errera, and cellist Bryan Cheng take the stage, and from the very first notes of Gideon Klein's string trio, it becomes clear that this is concentrated excellence at work. The three musicians form an ad-hoc ensemble, having come together just a few days before the performance. Yet, it is precisely this spontaneity that lends their playing an incredible intensity and urgency.
Maurice Ravel's Sonata for Violin and Cello follows with fantastic character: One can practically see how a masterful interpretation takes shape – as the music first flows through the performers' bodies before transferring to their instruments."
Frederik Hanssen, Tagesspiegel, February 2025 - about Bryan Cheng's chamber music performances at the Max-Planck-Institute in Berlin
“We have immense admiration for this Ottawa-born cellist, trained in Montreal, for his musical finesse and the subtle sensitivity with which he approaches music. Cheng and Langrée truly took advantage of the Maison symphonique and its silent audience to explore extreme nuances…both artist and instrument delivered magical moments.”
Christophe Huss, Le Devoir, January 2025 - about Bryan Cheng's performance of Glazunov Minstrel's Song & Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations with the Orchestre Métropolitain and Louis Langrée
"The Canada-born soloist Bryan Cheng, who is currently enrolled in "Professional Studies" at the Kronberg Academy, refined the delicate and intricate passages of Camille Saint-Saëns' first Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 33, composed in 1872, and particularly showcased the work's otherworldly intimacy. He played the highly virtuosic sections of the condensed single-movement concerto in a manner that the French composer likely intended: naturally, almost casually, yet flawlessly executed."
Axel Zibulski, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Janaury 2025 - about Bryan Cheng's performance of Saint-Saëns' Cello Concerto No. 1 with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony (hr-Sinfonieorchester) under the direction of Erina Yashima
"Cheng combines technical perfection with a deeply felt musical expression that makes his playing special. In Camille Saint-Saëns' Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Cheng revealed his outstanding skill. Even the dramatic opening of the solo cello captivated the audience. Cheng mastered the challenging double-stops and runs with impressive ease, creating a clear, powerful tone that effortlessly filled the room. The second part of the concerto, characterized by lyrical intimacy, showcased Cheng's extraordinary musicality. His phrasing was thoughtful and supported by a warm, velvety sound. Particularly impressive was the dialogue with the members of the hr-Sinfonieorchester, which formed the emotional core of this section. In the final part, Cheng excelled with devoted tone and precise articulation."
Dirk Schauß, Online Merker, January 2025 - about Bryan Cheng's performance of Saint-Saëns' Cello Concerto No. 1 with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony (hr-Sinfonieorchester) under the direction of Erina Yashima
"As a virtuoso, the young Canadian Bryan Cheng is in demand, and he is equally lively in his performance, completely up to the challenge of the demanding 1st Cello Concerto by Camille Saint-Saëns. Although the cellist has the opportunity to show off here, everything must still sound effortless and lyrical. One must be devilishly good on the cello, but it must not be noticeable. And he succeeds in doing so."
Judith von Sternburg, Frankfurter Rundschau, January 2025 - about Bryan Cheng's performance of Saint-Saëns' Cello Concerto No. 1 with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony (hr-Sinfonieorchester) under the direction of Erina Yashima
"The dazzling Canadian cellist Bryan Cheng embraced Bates' music with astonishing naturalness, even mastering the use of plectrum effects. The overall performance was, depending on the listener, likely enchanting, mysterious, or refreshing. Or all of those things.
Cheng thanked the audience by playing an encore of the Catalan folk tune made famous by Pau Casals. Cheng emphasized, with a few words, the importance of the message of peace in "The Song of the Birds" in today’s restless world. He then created a deeply touching interpretation of the serenely beautiful melody on his cello."
Harri Hautala, Aamulehti, November 2024 - about Bryan Cheng's performance (Finnish premiere) of Mason Bates' Cello Concerto with the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Robert Moody
"Mastering the solo part with flying colors, Cheng’s vigorous take on the concerto was matched in equal measure by the orchestra and Moody, their collaboration yielding to a beautifully interlocked and intricately balanced outing. Cheng’s delicate encore, the cellist’s arrangement of the Catalan carol El cant dels ocells – made famous in the concert hall by the Pablo Casals version – presented the audience with a reflective afterthought, articulated with focused pulchritude."
Jari Kallio, Adventures in Music, November 2024 - about Bryan Cheng's performance (Finnish premiere) of Mason Bates' Cello Concerto with the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Robert Moody
"Cheng's mastery lies in his perfect tone, which was evident even in pianissimo passages, and his instrument's captivating sound was present, even in collaboration with his fellow cellists, as the composer intended. The cello section, or a portion of it, is pulled into the phenomenal sound. Cheng makes the cello sing, and his expression is deep and suggestive. Like Don Quixote, he is bewildered and lost, but, along with the composer, he is kind to the story's main character. In dialogue with individual orchestra members and the other soloist, violist Martin Ruman, he communicates with artistic passion and understanding."
Viera Polakovičová, Opera Slovakia Magazine, October 2023 - about Bryan Cheng's performance of Richard Strauss' "Don Quixote" with the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Daniel Raiskin
"After the intermission, the symphonic poem "Don Quixote," Op. 35, an iconic orchestral work by Richard Strauss inspired by the legendary chivalric novel by M. de Cervantes, was performed...the soloist was the twenty-six-year-old Canadian instrumentalist Bryan Cheng, a laureate of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels in 2017 and currently a guest artist with many significant orchestras. He handled his part with remarkable elegance. It was a true pleasure to watch his long, melodically arched passages, especially in the fifth variation, " The knight's vigil," and in the playful sixth variation, " The Meeting with Dulcinea "
Ivan Marton, klasikaplus.com, October 2023 - about Bryan Cheng's performance of Richard Strauss' "Don Quixote" with the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Daniel Raiskin
"The 2nd Cello Concerto by Camille Saint-Saëns from 1902, which sounds so seductively light, casual and ingenious and is rightly finally finding its way into concert halls, features the young Canadian Bryan Cheng, whose slender and cultivated tone - flexible, firm, sonorous - should not only delight Saint-Saëns fans like me. Cheng performs the solo part with virtuosity, meandering between short tutti blocks. In the intervening Andante sostenuto, the gifted youngster plays so delicately sensitive and blissfully cantabile that every piano sounds wonderfully nuanced."
Schlatz, Opern- & Konzertkritik Berlin, June 2023 - about Bryan Cheng's performance of Saint-Saëns' Cello Concerto No.2 with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin under Alpesh Chauhan at the Berliner Philharmonie
“A great cellist: What was very good about the Pouliot-Cheng-Hewitt trio is that, as soon as Bryan Cheng spoke, we were reassured, because this interpretation was placed in the perspective of dialogue (the almost mischievous playing between Pouliot and Cheng) and reason...In this trio we really have to mention Bryan Cheng, the one who set the tone. The more we hear this cellist, the more we like this simplicity, this art of not forcing anything. And the 1699 Stradivarius cello lent to him by the Canimex Foun- dation is a marvel.”
Christophe Huss, Le Devoir (Montréal), November 2022 - about Bryan Cheng’s performance of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with pianist Angela Hewitt, violinist Blake Pouliot, and conductor Laurence Equilbey leading the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
“the evening’s three soloists brought phenomenal energy and commitment to the Triple Concerto. Cheng’s passionate lyricism was a standout.
Ian Cochrane, Bachtrack.com, November 2022 - about Bryan Cheng’s performance of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with pianist Angela Hewitt, violinist Blake Pouliot, and conductor Laurence Equilbey leading the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
“Cheng shaped his performance with a constant sense of narrative, rising elatedly to match the first violin for a goosebump-inducing duet with the concertmaster to end the third movement [of the Dvorak Cello Concerto].”
The Strad (UK), June 2022 - about Bryan Cheng’s performance with the Brussels Philharmonic in the finals of Queen Elisabeth Competition
“In Brussels, he distinguished himself with powerful, solar and cultivated playing, enveloped in opulent sonorities.”
La Libre (Belgium), May 2022 - about Cheng’s performances at the Queen Elisabeth Competition, Brussels (including with the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie)
“A full and elegant sound at the service of an easy and clear articulation, continuously attentive to the main line. Elegant, nuanced and gentle, an artist whose impulses always remain at the service of the true intention. Constant mastery, without pretentiousness, of technical demonstration”
La Soir (Belgium), May 2022 - about Cheng’s performances at the Queen Elisabeth Competition, Brussels
“The third to take the stage at Victoria Hall is 24-year-old Canadian Bryan Cheng...A beautiful performance, with a bit of late-romantic sentimentality and melancholy but no more than strictly necessary, without unnecessary flourishes and with very controlled dynamics. In the end he is the most applauded by the audience that fills the Victoria Hall.”
ARCHI Magazine (Italy), October 2021 - about Cheng’s performance with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in the finals of Concours de Genève
“...he is a fine artist, distinguished, of great class...Bryan Cheng made a brilliant debut in the amphitheater.”
Christophe Huss, Le Devoir (Montréal) - about Cheng’s concert at the Festival de Lanaudière with Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Québec
“brilliant...appear[ing] in fresh colours and afford[ing] much pleasure.”
The Times (United Kingdom)
“Bryan Cheng [recipient of the 2017 Michael Measures Prize] has shown a depth of sensitivity and maturity that will secure him a distinctive place in the world of classical music.”
Canada Council for the Arts, Summer 2017 - about his performance with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada
“Cheng sings the melancholy without schmaltz; the bitterness he gets exactly. Thus de Falla’s “Siete canciones” become razor-sharp character pieces and Cassadó’s solo suite an affair of austere, severe, yet dreamy beauty.”
Harald Eggebrecht, Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany)
“...Bryan Cheng on his Tassini cello achieves powerfully contoured bass tones and the finest, tenderest heights with stupendous dynamics, sounding always cantabile, always beautiful, always perfectly in tune, and absolutely captivating.”
Pizzicato Magazine (Luxembourg) - about his albums with audite
“Bryan combines a dark, robust tone with jaw-dropping bravura...”
The WholeNote (Canada)