Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times

"Hints of Beethoven’s Sonata in G permeate Mr. Cheung’s piece [Elective Memory]. The first movement, “Aubade, for a Golden Age,” begins with a hazy recollection of Beethoven’s strange opening theme, which is really just a motif, a “birdcall trill,” as Mr. Cheung aptly describes it in a program note. That element and others are put through what sounds like a process of cosmic rumination. Faintly wailing violin lines interact with oscillating intervals and murky chords in the piano.

The musical language combines atonal and tonal aspects into lush, mystical sonorities. At one point, the music turns frantic, a shift subtly signaled during the quizzical opening. “Broken Scherzo: Tripping Up, Falling Down,” the second movement, is even more jumpy and fragmented, with skittish bursts that suggest both jazzy improvisation and ethereal Messiaen. The third movement, “Nocturne, Half-Remembered,” returns to the elusive world of the first section, but with more pronounced lyricism."