Bohuslav Martinu - Cello Sonata No. 2
Yan Jiang & Yin Jiang - "Grassland Sky Fantasia”
Sulkhan Tsintsadze - Five Pieces in Folk Style

- intermission - 

Robert Schumann - Three Romances Op.94
Edvard Grieg - Cello Sonata in A minor Op.36

 

 

Zlatomir Fung

"At his young age, Fung seems to be one of those rare musicians with a Midas touch, he quickly envelopes every score he plays in an almost palpable golden aura". --Bachtrack

"A rich, warm tone, impeccable intonation and thoughtful phrasing... His appreciation for dynamic shading proved especially rewarding". -- Baltimore Sun

"In the central Adagio he found a rapt, nocturnal quality to the score, where the shadows of the night cede effortlessly to the magic of moonbeams, the soulfulness of the minor key moving the music into much deeper emotional territory. In the romp of the Finale there was a robust earthiness to Fung’s playing, which never lost its burnished sheen, but also an impish delight in the mercurial shifts of mood, always respectful of the classical form yet making it glow from within."
-- Bachtrack

The youngest cellist ever to win First Prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition, Zlatomir Fung is poised to become one of the preeminent cellists of our time. Astounding audiences with his boundless virtuosity and exquisite sensitivity, He has already proven himself a star among the next generation of world-class musicians.

As Artist-in-Residence with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in the 2023/24 season, Fung appears at London’s Cadogan Hall for three concerts and tours the UK with the orchestra. Further afield, highlights in North America and Asia include Fung’s debut with the Cleveland Orchestra, appearances with the Baltimore and Shanghai Symphony Orchestras, and a tour to Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Recent concerto highlights include his debuts with the New York Philharmonic, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lille, and BBC Philharmonic Symphony.

 

 

The 2024/25 season sees Fung’s return to the London Philharmonic Orchestra in his debut at the Royal Festival Hall. Furthermore, he debuts with Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and George Enescu Philharmonic. Further afield, he returns to Taiwan to perform Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme under Jaap van Zweden and the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra and the Rochester Philharmoinic Orchestra with Andreas Delfs. On the recital stage, Fung appears in New York, Boston and tours France, Italy and Japan.

Fung made his recital debut at Carnegie Hall in 2021 and was described by Bachtrack as "one of those rare musicians with a Midas touch: he quickly envelopes every score he plays in an almost palpable golden aura.” Other recent highlights include returns to the Wigmore Hall and appearances at the Verbier, Dresden, Janacek May, and Tsinandali Festivals, Cello Biennale, La Jolla Chamber Music Society, ChamberFest Cleveland, and the Aspen Music Festival.

Alongside demonstrating a mastery of the canon with his impeccable technique, Fung brings exceptional insight into the depths of contemporary repertoire, championing composers such as Unsuk Chin, Katherine Balch, and Anna Clyne. In 2023, under the baton of Gemma New and with the Dallas Symphony, Fung gave the world premiere of Katherine Balch’s “whisper concerto” with “jaw-dropping brilliance” (Dallas Morning News) as the dedicatee of the work.

A winner of the 2017 Young Concert Artists International Auditions and the 2017 Astral National Auditions, Fung has taken the top prizes at the 2018 Alice & Eleonore Schoenfeld International String Competition, the 2016 George Enescu International Cello Competition, the 2015 Johansen International Competition for Young String Players, 2014 Stulberg International String Competition and 2014 Irving Klein International Competition. among others. He was selected as a 2016 US Presidential Scholar for the Arts and was awarded the 2016 Landgrave von Hesse Prize at the Kronberg Academy Cello Masterclasses.

Fung was announced as a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship Winner in 2022 and awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2020. He was named to WXQR’s Artist Propulsion Lab in 2023. Fung has been featured on NPR’s Performance Today and has appeared six times on NPR’s From the Top. He plays a circa 1730 cello by Domenico Montagnana, on loan from a generous benefactor.

Of Bulgarian and Chinese heritage, Zlatomir Fung began playing cello at age three and earned fellowships at Ravinia Steans Music Institute, Heifetz International Music Institute, MusicAlp, and the Aspen Music Festival and School. A proud recipient of the Kovner Fellowship, Fung studied at The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Richard Aaron and Timothy Eddy. In 2024, Fung was appointed to the cello department faculty from the 24/25 academic year.

 

Zijian WEI
First Prize Winner of 2024 CLEVELAND INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION, he also has won Special Prizes of THE G. HENLE VERLAG URTEXT PRIZE, CHAMBERFEST CLEVELAND PRIZE, CONCERTO ROUND AUDIENCE PRIZE, JUNIOR JURY PRIZE in the competition.

Zijian WEI, Young Chinese pianist, he is the first homegrown Chinese pianist to win a major international competition in recent years and is rapidly emerging as one of the most exciting new stars of his generation. His performances are celebrated for their deep emotional expressiveness and unique charm, winning the admiration of audiences worldwide.

Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden, winner of the 1964 Queen Elizabeth International Music Competition, says "He has a great sense of musical feeling and he is constructing very deeply his interpretations with intelligence and imagination. I am sure he has a great future and is ready to start a concert performer career."

Dr. Norbert Gertsch, Managing Director of G. HENLE VERLAG, lauded WEI's musical artistry, saying, "I was so impressed by your kindness, your curiosity, your gentle heart, and most of all by your fantastic musicianship. Hearing you play was a revelation, you are such a creative storyteller, your music making is so deeply felt and so uniquely creative."

 

As a soloist, Zijian WEI has achieved remarkable success in major competitions both in China and abroad. His accolades include third place and the ROSE-MARIE HUGUENIN Prize at the 76th Geneva International Music (Piano) Competition; first place in the professional category of the 2018 Huanglong Music Festival Piano Competition; first place at the 2018 Gulangyu International Piano Competition; three solo performance awards at the 12th "Yanhuang Cup" Chinese Style Piano Composition Competition (which offered three solo awards in total); the Best Chinese Work Award at the 2019 Beijing International Chopin Piano Competition; second place at the 2019 China Grand Canal International Piano Arts Festival and Lang Lang Piano Competition, among many others.

In recent years, Zijian WEI has frequently performed as a soloist with renowned orchestras across North America, Europe, and China, including the Cleveland Orchestra, Romande Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, China Philharmonic Orchestra, Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra, Central Conservatory of Music Symphony Orchestra, Changsha Symphony Orchestra, Sichuan Conservatory of Music Symphony Orchestra, Zhengzhou Philharmonic Orchestra, Wuhan Philharmonic Orchestra, and Kunming Symphony Orchestra. His performances have taken him to many prestigious concert halls around the world.

WEI also excels in chamber music and has received several prestigious awards in this field, including CHAMBERFEST CLEVELAND PRIZE at the 2024 Cleveland International Piano Competition, first prize at the 5th Hong Kong International Chamber Music Competition, the Central Conservatory of Music’s Pearl River Caesarburg Scholarship, first place at the 4th Chamber Music Competition, and the Classical Period Works Prize at the 5th Shanghai Conservatory of Music Chamber Music Competition. He has collaborated with world-renowned musicians such as Nikita Boriso-Glebsky, Zlatomir Fung, Michel Strauss, Christian, Yun Zeng, and others, all of whom have praised his great performances.

Zijian WEI began his studies at the Xinghai Conservatory of Music Affiliated School, where he was mentored by Professors Pengjie Sun, Xie Liu, and Galyna Popova. In 2016, he was admitted to the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where he studied under the guidance of Professor Danwen Wei, the head of the Piano Department. He is a fully homegrown Chinese pianist who has developed his skills entirely within China. His delicate and unique control over tone color, combined with an inner strength, has garnered increasing attention and acclaim, further solidifying China’s position in the international classical music scene.

Currently, Zijian WEI has been invited to be an Artist-in-Residence at the Cleveland Institute of Music and a Henle Artist at G. Henle Verlag. He is committed to bringing more Chinese elements to the global classical music stage in the future.