site.btaYoungest Winner in History of Tchaikovsky Competition Zlatomir Fung Stages Concert in Bulgaria Hall

On May 23, the Sofia Philharmonic welcomes for the first time the youngest winner of the Tchaikovsky Competition, Zlatomir Fung, who will perform the Cello Concerto No.1 by Camille Saint-Saens under the baton of Ernest Hoetzl.

The evening's programme also includes Paul Hertel's Emigration of Strings, and Symphony No. 7 by Antonin Dvorak.

American cellist Zlatomir Fung is already on the list of the world's most distinguished young cellists, astonishing audiences with his virtuosity and sensitivity.

Born into a family of mathematicians (his mother is Bulgarian, his father of Chinese roots), he fell in love with the cello and began playing at the age of three. He has won many national and international competitions such as: the Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in Montreux-Vevey (silver medal, 2012), first prizes at the Irwin Klein Competition in San Francisco and the Stulberg International String Competition in Kalamazoo, Michigan (2014), and the Johannes Competition in Washington, DC (2015). In 2019, he won First Prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. He is the youngest cellist in the competition's history to win this recognition.

Zlatomir Fung is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where he studied under Richard Aaron and Timothy Eddy. In the 2023/24 season he is Artist in Residence with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He plays at Cadogan Hall in London and tours the UK with the orchestra. Fung has performed in the USA, Europe, and Asia. He has toured Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. He has performed with the New York Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Lille, and BBC Philharmonic, as well as the Cleveland, Baltimore, Detroit, Seattle, Milwaukee, Utah, Rochester and Kansas City symphony orchestras.  In 2021, he made his Carnegie Hall debut with a recital. He has participated in prestigious festivals in Verbier, Dresden, Aspen, Cleveland, and more.

Zlatomir Fung plays a David Tecchler cello made in 1717 in Rome, kindly given to him by a generous benefactor through Beare's International Violin Society.

Tickets are available at the Bulgaria Hall box office and at Inventim.