Thanks to operatic paraphrases of Franz Liszt, pianists have plenty to sing about, but for string players, specifically cellists the choices are more elusive. In his latest release Fantasies, Zlatomir Fung has discovered some gems that spotlight a cello’s showy side that you might have not thought possible from this instrument. (Signum Classics). In the CD booklet Fung writes, “The composers of these fantasies, mostly virtuoso cellists, had created a circus act of sorts – daring themselves and others to execute high-wire feats of technical prowess, demonstrating that the cello had a broader range of expression than composers previously believed.”
Many selections on this recording evoke a Gold Age flamboyancy often found in showpieces of 19th century programs, in addition to more serious works like the Brahms second cello sonata, Op. 99 or Beethoven’s Piano Trio Op. 97, the so-called Archduke. While these paraphrases on operas offer entertainment for entertainment’s sake they also provide some intriguing musical moments from familiar operas, played with utmost dazzle and silken touch by Fung and Richard Fu, a skilled collaborator who is currently a pianist of the Royal Ballet and Opera.
Fung’s career skyrocketed in 2019 after receiving first prize in the cello division of the International Tchaikovsky Competition and this engaging cellist’s global engagements include a faculty position at The Juilliard School, his former alma mater. This review provides a prelude of more to come as Fung’s June concerts and master class at Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara will be featured in an upcoming article of Miroirs CA.
Fung’s June 18 concert at Music Academy of the West will include his own work, Eulogy for Cello and Piano which is a musical commentary about Artificial Intelligence (AI). This disc offers a magical soundscape of works where Fung combines fluency and a palette of tonal nuances (yes, a cello can mimic the flavor of rich, fudgy chocolate or crystalline icy blue spring water) in his arrangement of Fantasy on Jenůfa by Janáĉek, which unfolds in a rather mysterious hue of flowing fingerboard flourishes and lyricism. Some legendary nineteenth and twentieth century string players are showcased such as Servais in his Fantaisie et Variations sur des motifs de l’Opéra la Fille du Régiment de Donizetti, Op. 16 (The Daughter of the Regiment), which contains signature fleet-fingered flair found in his other works for cello such as Souvenir de Spa, Op. 2.
Of course, expect to hear beautifully lush and dramatically soulful arrangements of Walther’s Prize Song from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner-Wilhelmj), Lensky’s Aria from Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky-Bukinik), delivered with sonic resonance and the Rossini-Hainl Fantaisie sur des motifs de Guillaume Tell de G. Rossini, Op. 8 in an elegant performance fit for gatherings hosted by 1830’s Paris salonnières or perhaps a salonist. But the real fireworks can be heard in Fantasia Carmèn by contemporary composer Marshall Estrin – of which Fung has also performed his Kitaroidia and Cinemathegue. The work is an opera adaptation in itself for cello and piano that includes those very familiar tunes brilliantly endowed with effects that echo the sounds and rhythms inherent in the original score. Fu dives into the piano accompaniment with orchestral grandeur while Fung lets loose his mojo in a fingerboard and bowing tour de force that ends in a coda worthy of many curtain calls.
Fantasies is a kind of back to the future recording that features the diversity of Zlatomir Fung’s artistry, both as performer and treasure hunter of unique repertoire.