Zlatomir Fung

Last season saw Fung as Artist-in-Residence with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, appearing in three concerts at London’s Cadogan Hall and touring the UK with the orchestra. In North America, Fung made his concerto debut with the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Music Festival and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Further afield, Fung made his debuts with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and with the Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra at the WeiWuYing Festival, and embarked on extensive touring to Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Further recent concerto highlights include his debuts with the New York Philharmonic, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lille, BBC Philharmonic and Dallas 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 being "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 Aspen Music Festival.

Alongside demonstrating a mastery of the canon, Fung brings an 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 Whisper Concerto with ‘jaw-dropping brilliance’ (Dallas Morning News), as dedicatee of the work.

Fung is the youngest cellist ever to win First Prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition. 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, 2016 George Enescu International Cello Competition, 2015 Johansen International Competition for Young String Players, 2014 Stulberg International String Competition and 2014 Irving Klein International Competition. 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.

Of Bulgarian and Chinese heritage, Zlatomir Fung began playing cello at age three and earned fellowships at Ravinia's 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.

Fung was announced as a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship Winner in 2022. He plays a circa 1730 cello by Domenico Montagnana, on loan from a generous benefactor. 

2024/25 season / 545 words. Not to be altered without permission.