Advertisement
Bulgarian-Chinese cellist Zlatomir Fung brilliant in recital with Hong Kong pianist Rachel Cheung
- In his Hong Kong debut, Fung shows he has technique to burn, as well as musicality, in a varied programme that swung between passion and intimacy
- Pianist and cellist were on the same page throughout the recital of works by Schumann, Chopin, Brahms and Fung himself, Cheung by no means playing second fiddle
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Of all the odd words used to describe the sound of the cello as a solo instrument, composer Antonin Dvořák surely took the cake when he referred to its “nasal high register” and its “mumbling bass”.
Advertisement
They were thoroughly given the lie by the array of cello sounds that Bulgarian-Chinese cellist Zlatomir Fung conjured in his brilliant recital with Hong Kong pianist Rachel Cheung at Hong Kong City Hall on April 17.
With technique to burn and ample musicality, 25-year-old Fung has a deft bow technique. He often struck the strings from the air with pinpoint precision and aplomb.
In a wistful take on the first of Schumann’s Five Pieces in Folk Style, for example, Fung was on point where lightness was concerned and remained faithful to the composer’s intention of representing Vanitas vanitatum, loosely translated as the fleetingness of life.
Cheung, always alert to the whimsicality of Fung’s playing, never once played second fiddle in their partnership.
Advertisement
Advertisement