Cellist VC Artist Zlatomir Fung Releases Debut Album, "Fantasies"

Released on Signum Records, the album includes Fung’s own fantasy on Janáček’s "Jenůfa" and the world premiere recording of Marshall Estrin’s "Fantasia Carmèn"

Cellist Zlatomir Fung released his debut album, "Fantasies," on Signum Records, featuring a collection of opera fantasies and transcriptions for cello and piano, joined by pianist Richard Fu.

The album includes Leoš Janáček's Fantasy on Jenůfa, arranged by Fung, Adrien-François Servais's Fantaisie et Variations sur des motifs de l‘Opéra La Fille du Régiment de Donizetti, Op.16, François George-Hainl's Fantaisie sur des motifs de Guillaume Tell de 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 — plus the world premiere of Marshall Estrin's Fantasia Carmèn.

Fung’s fascination with the opera fantasy, which takes well-known melodies from famous operas, blossomed during the pandemic lockdown. “These fantasies are a grand expression of musical freedom: the freedom to play, to wander, to risk, and to evolve,” Fung said.

For Fung's own opera fantasy, he was drawn to Leoš Janáček’s Jenůfa because of its dark storyline and idiosyncratic musical language.

“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. During the composition process, I avoided referencing the opera’s plot or libretto, instead searching for moments that I believed would be interesting in purely musical terms.”

Fung has premiered several of composer Marshall Estrin’s works, including Kitaroidía for solo cello in 2019 and Cinematheque in 2024. With the Fantasia Carmèn, which receives its world premiere recording on this album, Estrin has written a fantasy “in the tradition of the most outstanding examples of the genre,” Fung said.

“It's more unconventional elements reimagine the notion of the fantasy itself, proving that the genre’s possibilities are far from exhausted—and, indeed, may only be in their infancy.”

VC Artist Zlatomir Fung won first prize at the 2019 International Tchaikovsky Competition, becoming the youngest cellist ever to win the competition. He has served as Artist-in-Residence with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the 2023–2024 season, appearing at London’s Cadogan Hall and touring the UK with the orchestra. Other notable appearances of late include his debuts with the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lille, and BBC Philharmonic. Fung joined the cello faculty at The Juilliard School in 2024.