Chamber Music Performances
with live recordings from MIT Chamber Music Society concerts

violin: Catherine McCurry, Katherine Choi,
Elizabeth (Lissa) Riley, Xiaoming Sherman Jia;
viola:  Juliet Gopinath;
violoncello:  Mea Cook,  Darius Torchinsky,  Sunny Wicks;
pianoforte:  Vincent C. K. Cheung
coaches: David Deveau, John Harbison, Marcus Thompson et al.

If you intend to use any of the following recordings for purposes other than your personal enjoyment, please send a note to ckcheung [no spam] @mit.edu

Movements marked with asterisks (*) are those we particularly treasure.
Let us know what you think about our playing!  Any feedback is appreciated!


Anton Arensky (1861-1906)
Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 32
*Allegro moderato (12:50) mp3 (15.9 MB)
Scherzo: Allegro molto (6:31) mp3 (7.9 MB)
Elegia: Adagio (5:45) mp3 (6.7 MB)
Finale: Allegro non troppo (6:10) mp3 (7.8 MB)
    Katherine Choi, violin;  Sunny Wicks, cello;  Vincent C. K. Cheung, piano
    Rec. Dec. 9, 2007, Killian Hall, MIT, Cambridge, MA  (coach: David Deveau)


Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Cello Sonata No. 5 in D major, Op. 102 No. 2
Allegro con brio (6:20) mp3 (7.8 MB)
*Adagio con molto sentimento d'affetto (8:12) mp3 (9.6 MB)
Allegro - Allegro fugato (4:47) mp3 (6.0 MB)
Rec. April 8-9, 2008, Killian Hall, MIT, Cambridge, MA  (coach: Rhonda Rider)


Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Piano Trio in B major, Op. 8 (revised version)
This is probably not my strongest performance, but certainly one of my most treasured chamber music experiences.  I remembered clearly how ecstatic and emotionally overwhelmed I was after we performed this for the MIT Chamber Music Society.  -Vincent   
*Allegro con brio (13:45) mp3 (15.7 MB)
Scherzo: Allegro molto (6:25) mp3 (7.4 MB)
Adagio (8:02) mp3 (9.2 MB)
Allegro (6:43) mp3 (7.7 MB)  
    Catherine McCurry, violin; Mea Cook, cello; Vincent C. K. Cheung, piano
    Rec. April 28, 2003 (i & ii); May 11, 2003 (iii & iv); Killian Hall, MIT, Cambridge, MA  (coach: David Deveau)

The Piano Quartets
            Catherine McCurry, violin 
            Juliet Gopinath, viola
            Mea Cook, cello
            Vincent C. K. Cheung, piano

Sponsored by the MIT Chamber Music Society, we studied the three Brahms piano quartets with David Deveau (Op. 25), John Harbison (Op. 26), and Marcus Thompson (Op. 60), respectively, over four semesters (Fall 2003 to Spring 2005).  As a conclusion to this project, we performed all three quartets in a single concert twice, at MIT and Cape Cod Conservatory, respectively.  This project was inspired by both David Deveau and Marcus Thompson, who had attempted a similar recital of complete Brahms quartets twice before.  For this project, Vincent also wrote an article on the musical and social contexts surrounding Brahms's piano quartets.
 
Piano Quartet in G minor, Op. 25
Allegro (13:55) mp3 (17.28 MB)
Intermezzo: Allegro, ma non troppo (8:59) mp3 (10.65 MB)
Andante con moto (9:57) mp3 (12.23 MB)
Rondo alla Zingarese: Presto (8:45) mp3 (11.34 MB)
    Rec. April 24, 2005, Killian Hall, MIT, Cambridge, MA  (coach: David Deveau) 

Piano Quartet in A major, Op. 26
Allegro non troppo (11:58) mp3 (15.66 MB)              
*Poco Adagio (11:32) mp3 (14.25 MB)
Scherzo: Poco Allegro – Trio – Scherzo da Capo (11:05) mp3 (14.64 MB)
Finale: Allegro (10:28) mp3 (14.29 MB)
    Rec. May 1, 2005, Cape Cod Conservatory, Falmouth, MA  (coach: John Harbison)

Piano Quartet in C minor, Op. 60
Allegro non troppo (11:01) mp3 (13.8 MB)
Scherzo: Allegro (4:27) mp3 (5.8 MB)
*Andante (9:44) mp3 (11.9 MB)
*Finale: Allegro comodo (11:53) mp3 (15.5 MB)
    Rec. Dec. 5, 2004 (iii & iv); April 24, 2005 (i & ii), Killian Hall, MIT, Cambridge, MA  (coach: Marcus Thompson)

Cello Sonata in F major, Op. 99
Allegro vivace (8:56)  mp3 (10.2 MB)
**Adagio affetuoso (6:38)  mp3 (7.6 MB)
*Allegro passionato (7:46)  mp3 (8.9 MB)
Allegro molto (4:57)  mp3 (5.7 MB)
Sunny Wicks, cello;  Vincent C. K. Cheung, piano
Rec. April 28-29, 2009, Killian Hall, MIT, Cambridge, MA  (coach: Rhonda Rider)


Manuel de Falla (1876-1946)
Suite Populaire Espagnole (after Siete Canciones populares Españolas)
Arranged for violin by Paul Kochanski; transcribed for cello by Maurice Maréchal
El Paño Moruno - Allegretto vivace (2:20) mp3 (2.76 MB)
*Nana - Calmo e sostenuto (2:36) mp3 (2.97 MB)
Canción - Allegretto (1:26) mp3 (1.72 MB)
Jota - Allegro vivo (2:58) mp3 (3.56 MB)
Asturiana - Andante tranquillo (2:51) mp3 (3.27 MB)
Polo - Vivo (1:50) mp3 (2.42 MB)
Sunny Wicks, cello;  Vincent C. K. Cheung, piano
Rec. April 8-9, 2008, Killian Hall, MIT, Cambridge, MA  (coach: Rhonda Rider)


Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
Piano Trio in F minor, Op. 65
Allegro ma non troppo (13:22)  mp3 (16.7 MB)
Allegro grazioso (6:55)  mp3 (8.6 MB)
*Poco Adagio (10:14)  mp3 (12.2 MB)
Finale: Allegro con brio (9:53)  mp3 (12.4 MB)
    Catherine McCurry, violin;  Darius Torchinsky, cello;  Vincent C. K. Cheung, piano
    Rec. Dec. 12, 2005 (ii & iii); May 21, 2006 (i & iv); Killian Hall, MIT, Cambridge, MA  (coach: David Deveau)


Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Piano Trio in E major, Hob. XV:28
Allegro moderato (7:28) mp3 (9.0 MB)
*Allegretto (3:00) mp3 (3.6 MB)
Finale: Allegro (5:32) mp3 (6.8 MB)
    Catherine McCurry, violin;  Darius Torchinsky, cello;  Vincent C. K. Cheung, piano
    Rec. May 21, 2006, Killian Hall, MIT, Cambridge, MA  (coach: David Deveau)
Piano Trio in E-flat major, Hob. XV:29
Poco allegretto (6:44) mp3 (8.66 MB)
Andantino ed innocentemente – attacca (3:15) mp3 (4.0 MB)
Finale: Presto assai (5:56) mp3 (7.77 MB)
    Catherine McCurry, violin;  Sunny Wicks, cello;  Vincent C. K. Cheung, piano
    Rec. June 9, 2007, Killian Hall, MIT, Cambridge, MA  (coach: David Deveau)


Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)
*Sonata for Viola and Piano (1919), Op. 11 No. 4 (16:44) mp3 (19.9 MB)
    Juliet Gopinath, viola;  Vincent C. K. Cheung, piano
    Rec. April 23, 2006, Killian Hall, MIT, Cambridge, MA  (coach: Carol Rodland / David Kim)


Charles Edward Ives (1874-1954)
Piano Trio (1904; rev. c.1909-1915)                   
Moderato (3:46)  mp3 (5.01 MB)
**TSIAJ ("This Scherzo Is A Joke") (6:43)  mp3 (9.04 MB)
**Moderato con moto (11:58)  mp3 (14.61 MB)
    Catherine McCurry, violin;  Sunny Wicks, cello;  Vincent C. K. Cheung, piano   
    Rec. June 7, 2007 (iii); June 9, 2007 (i-ii); Killian Hall, MIT, Cambridge, MA  (coach: David Deveau)


Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)
Le Grand Tango, for Cello and Piano (premiered 1990)
Tempo di tango - Meno mosso - Piu mosso  (11:43)  mp3 (13.4 MB)
    Sunny Wicks, cello;  Vincent C. K. Cheung, piano
    Rec. April 27, 2009 (i); April 29, 2009 (ii & iii); Killian Hall, MIT, Cambridge, MA  (coach: Rhonda Rider)


Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
The Piano Trios
Catherine McCurry, violin (Op. 99)
Elizabeth (Lissa) Riley, violin (Op. 100, Rec. 1)
Xiaoming Sherman Jia, violin (Op. 100, Rec. 2)

Piano Trio in B-flat major, Op. 99 (D. 898)
*Allegro moderato (12:08)  mp3 (14.5 MB)
*Andante un poco mosso (8:39)  mp3 (10.5 MB)
Scherzo: Allegro - Trio (6:56)  mp3 (8.78 MB)
Rondo: Allegro vivace (9:10)  mp3 (11.6 MB)
    Rec. June 9, 2007, Killian Hall, MIT, Cambridge, MA  (coach: David Deveau)

Piano Trio in E-flat major, Op. 100 (D. 929)
 For this piece, probably the grandest trio of all time, I posted two different recordings of ours because I like both of them equally.  The first was recorded live during a semester-end recital of the MIT Chamber Music Society.  The second was a performance for a symposium presented in honor of Prof. Edward N. Lorenz.  The second is perhaps better note-wise, more refined in phrasing, and more mature in our architectural conception.  But the first, overall crisper in tempo and spirit, has more risk taking moments and is therefore a more exciting performance.  In both recordings, we observe Schubert's cuts in the finale.  -Vincent  
  Recording 1:
**Allegro (11:30)  mp3 (14.4 MB)
Andante con moto (8:28)  mp3 (10.3 MB)
Scherzando: Allegro moderato - Trio (6:33)  mp3 (8.1 MB)
*Allegro moderato (13:14)  mp3 (17.0 MB)
    Rec. May 13, 2008, Killian Hall, MIT, Cambridge, MA  (coach: David Deveau)
  Recording 2:
Allegro (11:53)  mp3 (15.8 MB)
*Andante con moto (8:59)  mp3 (11.5 MB)
Scherzando: Allegro moderato - Trio (6:27)  mp3 (8.4 MB)
**Allegro moderato (13:12)  mp3 (17.9 MB)
    Rec. September 13, 2008, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Cambridge, MA  (coach: Lynn Chang)


Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Märchenbilder for Viola and Piano, Op. 113
Nicht schnell (3:22)  mp3 (3.9 MB)
Lebhaft (3:52)  mp3 (4.7 MB)
Rasch (2:45)  mp3 (3.3 MB)
*Langsam, mit melancholischem Ausdruck (4:57)  mp3 (5.8 MB)
    Juliet Gopinath, viola;  Vincent C. K. Cheung, piano   
    Rec. April 23, 2006, Killian Hall, MIT, Cambridge, MA  (coach: Carol Rodland / David Kim)


Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)
Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67
Andante (7:38) mp3 (9.2 MB)
**Allegro con brio (3:06) mp3 (4.2 MB)
*Largo (4:37) mp3 (5.4 MB)
**Allegretto - Adagio (10:50) mp3 (13.8 MB)
    Catherine McCurry, violin;  Darius Torchinsky, cello;  Vincent C. K. Cheung, piano
    Rec. May 20-21, 2006, Killian Hall, MIT, Cambridge, MA  (coach: David Deveau)
Quartet Picture
At Cape Cod Conservatory, Falmouth, Massachusetts
Photo credit: Dennis Wu

Piano Performances
Vincent's album of piano solo and duet music

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Prelude and Fugue in E-flat minor,Well-Tempered Clavier (Book I), BWV 853
Prelude (3:35) mp3 (4.2 MB)
*Fugue (4:51) mp3 (5.7 MB)
    Vincent C. K. Cheung, piano
    Rec. May 30, 1997, Koerner Recital Hall, Vancouver Academy of Music, Vancouver, BC


Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Piano Sonata No. 26 in E-flat major, Les Adieux, Op. 81a
Das Lebewohl: Adagio - Allegro (6:07) mp3 (7.2 MB)
Abwesenheit: Andante espressivo (3:34) mp3 (4.2 MB)
Das Wiedersehen: Vivacissimamente (4:19) mp3 (5.2 MB)
    Vincent C. K. Cheung, piano
    Rec. June 20, 1997, Koerner Recital Hall, Vancouver Academy of Music, Vancouver, BC


Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)
Sonata for Piano Duet (1938)
Mäßig bewegt - Ruhig - Wie am Anfang - Ruhiger, feierlich (5:03) mp3 (6.1 MB)
Lebhaft (2:43) mp3 (3.3 MB)
*Ruhig bewegt - Sehr lebhaft - Im früheren Zeitmaß - Wie am Anfang des Satzes (6:30) mp3 (7.8 MB)
    Audrey Chan, primo; Vincent C. K. Cheung, secondo
    Rec. May 21, 2000, Koerner Recital Hall, Vancouver Academy of Music, Vancouver, BC


Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
Keyboard Sonatas
E minor (Andante), Kp. 263, L. 321 (3:20) mp3 (4.7 MB)
C minor (Allegro), Kp. 115, L. 407 (3:22) mp3 (4.8 MB)
C minor (Allegro), Kp. 116, L. 452 (1:48) mp3 (2.5 MB)
    Vincent C. K. Cheung, piano
    Rec. Feb. 13, 1996 (Kp. 263);  May 30, 1997 (Kp. 115, 116)
    Koerner Recital Hall, Vancouver Academy of Music, Vancouver, BC


Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937)
Etude in B-flat minor, Op. 4 No. 3 (4:50) mp3 (6.7 MB)
    Vincent C. K. Cheung, piano
    Rec. May 30, 1997, Koerner Recital Hall, Vancouver Academy of Music, Vancouver, BC


Peter Warlock (1894-1930)
Capriol Suite for Piano Duet (1926) (9:30) mp3 (11.8 MB)
        Based on dance tunes in Arbeau's Orchésographie (1589)
        i. Basse-Danse; ii. Pavane; iii. Tordion; iv. Bransles; v. Pieds-en-L'air; vi. Mattachins     
    Audrey Chan, primo; Vincent C. K. Cheung, secondo
    Rec. May 21, 2000, Koerner Recital Hall, Vancouver Academy of Music, Vancouver, BC


More online classical music
Contact: address
Last updated on May 7, 2009