Performing in the Premiere Performance concert with local pianist Rachel Cheung Wai-ching, Fung has selected a programme featuring Schumann, Chopin, Brahms, Janacek and… himself.
Fantasy on Jenufa for cello and piano is his own 2023 adaptation of Czech composer Leos Janacek’s opera Jenufa – an unusual endeavour.
“There was a strong tradition in the 19th century where virtuoso cellist-composers would make arrangements of popular operas at the time by picking the best tunes and the most famous moments and writing variations on them for the cello,” Fung says.
He’s like a K-pop idol for classical music fans – meet Danny Koo
He’s like a K-pop idol for classical music fans – meet Danny Koo
“The tradition died off in the 20th century. But I became very interested in this project during the pandemic, as many of these pieces were written by cellists who intended to sort of ‘show off’ what they could do with the instrument.”
The coming performance at the Hong Kong City Hall will be the Asian premiere of Fung’s Fantasy on Jenufa. “It’s great to do this kind of intimate recital where everything is a conversation between the piano and the cello.”
Other pieces in the concert includes Robert Schumann’s Five Pieces in Folk Style, which he sees as a “very unusual piece that I’ve known for quite a while”, but a “fun challenge” nonetheless. For the first time, he will attempt Johannes Brahms’s Violin Sonata No. 3 in a version for the cello and piano that Yo-Yo Ma recorded some 30 years ago.
Fung’s Bulgarian mother and Chinese father – both mathematicians – provided early music education to their four American children.
Fung began playing the cello when he was three-and-a-half, an unusual choice as most children start with the piano. However, his family did not have a piano at home, he therefore started with “a very small cello”, he says.
For the first seven years, he studied with a patient teacher who placed a heavy focus on making sure he polished every piece he played before moving onto something harder, he says appreciatively.
“By the time I was 10, I hadn’t played that many pieces, but I think I had played them all pretty well.”
Around age 13, he decided that he would become a professional musician. In his words, it was a “crazy decision” but that was what he did.
Today, apart from his touring and teaching commitments, he is also artist-in-residence with the UK’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the 2023-24 season.
“I feel like I got very lucky – they’re a wonderful orchestra, and getting the chance to work with them multiple times has been really interesting,” Fung says.
“I’ve learned a lot. I think the style of British orchestras in general is very different from American orchestras [which I am more familiar with].”
He says he is pleased to finally meet and work with Cheung, who won the audience prize at the 2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and additional accolades at other major competitions such as the Leeds, Chopin and Geneva international piano competitions.
“As a musician, you hear about people; now, with the internet, you can also hear them so easily. The repertoire I choose is sometimes a bit unusual, and I’m really looking forward to working with her,” he says. The two will go on to perform in Shanghai on April 25.
“Tchaikovsky Competition Gold Medal Winner: Zlatomir Fung Cello Recital”, Premiere Performance, Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall, 5 Edinburgh Place, Central, April 17, 7.30pm.