Cellist Zlatomir Fung has released his debut album, Fantasies, on Signum Records. The album features a collection of opera fantasies and transcriptions for cello and piano, with pianist Richard Fu joining him.
The album includes works such as Leoš Janáček’s Fantasy on Jenůfa, arranged by Fung himself; Adrien-François Servais’s Fantaisie et Variations sur des motifs de l‘Opéra La Fille du Régiment by Donizetti, Op.16; François George-Hainl’s Fantaisie sur des motifs de Guillaume Tell by G. Rossini, Op.8; Richard Wagner’s Walther’s Prize Song from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, arranged by August Wilhelmj; and Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Lensky’s Aria from Eugene Onegin, arranged by Mikhail Bukinik. The album also features the world premiere recording of Fantasia Carmèn by composer Marshall Estrin.
Fung’s interest in opera fantasies grew during the pandemic lockdown. He describes these fantasies as “a grand expression of musical freedom: the freedom to play, to wander, to risk, and to evolve.”
For his own opera fantasy, Fung chose Janáček’s Jenůfa because of its dark story and unique musical style. He said, “My goal was to highlight the music I love most from Jenůfa and arrange it in a way that felt logical and true to the spirit of the opera. I focused purely on the musical moments, without referring to the plot or libretto.”
Fung has premiered several works by Marshall Estrin, including Kitaroidía for solo cello in 2019 and Cinematheque in 2024. The Fantasia Carmèn on this album is its world premiere recording. Fung describes Estrin’s work as pushing the boundaries of the fantasy genre: “It reimagines the fantasy itself, showing that the genre’s possibilities are far from exhausted and may just be beginning.”
Zlatomir Fung is a highly acclaimed cellist who won first prize at the 2019 International Tchaikovsky Competition, becoming the youngest ever winner in the cello category. For the 2023–2024 season, he is Artist-in-Residence with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, performing at London’s Cadogan Hall and touring the UK. Recent highlights include debuts with the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lille, and BBC Philharmonic. In 2024, Fung joined the cello faculty at The Juilliard School.
Related Topics
