Zlatomir Fung, Cello
Mishka Rushdie Momen, Piano
Part of: Distinctive Debuts
Performers
Zlatomir Fung, Cello
Mishka Rushdie Momen, Piano
Program
R. SCHUMANN Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70
SCHUBERT Sonata in A Minor, D. 821, "Arpeggione"
DVOŘÁK "Silent Woods," Op. 68, No. 5
FRANCK Violin Sonata (transcr. for cello by Delsart)
Encore:
BORODIN Nocturne from Petite Suite (arr. Marshall Estrin)
Event Duration
The printed program will last approximately 75 minutes with no intermission.Distinctive Debuts is supported by endowment gifts from The Lizabeth and Frank Newman Charitable Foundation and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).
At a Glance
R. SCHUMANN Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70
Originally written for French horn, this richly lyrical diptych has become a standard of the cello literature. Although the valve horn had been in existence for some 30 years by the time Schumann wrote it in 1849, the older natural horn still held sway in most European orchestras. The Adagio and Allegro helped gain the new instrument wider acceptance.
SCHUBERT Sonata in A Minor, D. 821, “Arpeggione”
Although not one of Schubert’s most profound works, the “Arpeggione” Sonata has a special place of affection for violists and cellists. (The short-lived arpeggione is one of the few obsolete instruments that early-music revival has left behind.) Its outgoing, uncomplicated lyricism recalls the winsome mood of the great Octet for strings and winds that the composer wrote earlier that same year.
DVOŘÁK “Silent Woods,” Op. 68, No. 5
Best known today as the dedicatee of Dvořák’s great Cello Concerto in B Minor, Czech cellist Hanuš Wihan also inspired a number of other works, including R. Strauss’s early Cello Sonata and two short pieces by Dvořák: the Rondo in G Minor and “Silent Woods.” The latter was featured on the composer’s “farewell” concert tour of Bohemia and Moravia in 1892, just before he began a three-year sojourn in the United States.
FRANCK Violin Sonata in A Major (transc. Delsart)
Franck’s lushly Romantic A-Major Sonata was composed for the great Belgian violin virtuoso Eugène Ysaÿe. Considered by many to be the composer’s masterpiece, it has been enthusiastically taken up by cellists, violists, and flutists.
Bios
Zlatomir Fung
The first American in four decades and youngest musician ever to win first prize in the International Tchaikovsky Competition’s cello division, Zlatomir Fung is poised to become one of the preeminent cellists of our time. Astounding audiences with his boundless virtuosity and exquisite sensitivity, the 22-year-old has already proven himself to be a star among the next generation of world-class musicians. A 2020 recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, Mr. Fung’s impeccable technique demonstrates a mastery of the canon and an exceptional insight into contemporary repertoire.
Mr. Fung’s summer 2021 debuts included La Jolla Music Society in recital with Richard Fu, multiple programs at ChamberFest Cleveland, Bravo! Vail Music Festival in a chamber program with Joshua Bell and Shai Wosner, Aspen Music Festival in a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme with the Aspen Festival Orchestra, and Rockport Chamber Music Festival in a recital with Dina Vainshtein. In the fall, he opens Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra’s season and appears twice with Iris Orchestra. He is presented by Harvard Musical Association, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Philharmonic Society of Orange County, and Thomasville Entertainment Foundation before making his Weill Recital Hall debut at Carnegie Hall. He returns to Philadelphia Chamber Music Society in January for two evenings with BalletX and the Calidore String Quartet to give the Philadelphia premiere of a new work by Anna Clyne, and appears with several orchestras, including the Kansas City Symphony and Greensboro Symphony Orchestra. He also tours Italy, Russia, China, and Japan with various orchestras and in recital.
A winner of the 2017 Young Concert Artists International Auditions and the 2017 Astral National Auditions, Mr. Fung has taken the top prizes at numerous international competitions and was selected as a 2016 US Presidential Scholar in the Arts.
Of Bulgarian and Chinese heritage, Mr. Fung began playing the cello at age three. He earned fellowships at Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, Heifetz International Music Institute, MusicAlp, and the Aspen Music Festival and School. Mr. Fung studied at The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Richard Aaron and Timothy Eddy. In addition to music, he enjoys cinema, reading, and blitz chess.
Mishka Rushdie Momen
Mishka Rushdie Momen was The Times (London) arts critics’ chosen nominee in the field of classical music for their 2021 Breakthrough Award, presented by Sky Arts and The South Bank Show, which profiled her for an episode of the program that aired in July. Among her many worldwide appearances, Sir András Schiff has presented her in recitals at the Zurich Tonhalle, 92nd Street Y in New York City, deSingel in Antwerp, and other venues across Europe.
Highlights of recent and future performances include a debut solo recital at Wigmore Hall; concertos with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, and Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss am Rhein; tours with the Orchestre national d’Île-de-France and Moritzburg Festival Orchestra; and solo and duo recitals at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, The Phillips Collection, and Vancouver Recital Society. Four recitals with Steven Isserlis were streamed and broadcast live from Wigmore Hall during the 2020–2021 season.
In October 2019, SOMM Recordings released Ms. Rushdie Momen’s debut, Variations, for which she commissioned works by Nico Muhly and Vijay Iyer in response to a program of variations by the Schumanns, Felix Mendelssohn, and Brahms. On the same label, she appears as one of the soloists in Mozart’s Triple Concerto with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Her playing has been broadcast on BBC radio and television, Classic FM, PBS, France Musique, New York’s WQXR, and Canada’s CBC, which featured Variations as a record of the week.
Ms. Rushdie Momen studied with Joan Havill and Imogen Cooper at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She also studied with Richard Goode and at the Kronberg Academy with Sir András Schiff. The latter study was generously funded by the Günter Henle Foundation.