Biography

Cellist Zlatomir Fung burst onto the scene as the first American in four decades (and youngest musician ever) to win First Prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition Cello Division. He has since garnered accolades, critical acclaim and standing ovations at performances around the world, more and more widely recognized as one of the preeminent cellists of our time. Astounding audiences with his boundless virtuosity and exquisite sensitivity, the 26-year-old has already proven himself a star among the next generation of world-class musicians.

Highlights of the 2025-2026 season include a recital at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall in March and a return to the Aspen, Ravinia and La Jolla Music Society Festivals. He appears with the Fort Worth Symphony under conductor Peter Oundjian and with the Nashville, Albany, Knoxville and Pacific Symphonies, Sacramento and Reno Philharmonics and Sarasota Orchestra.  Appearances outside the U.S. include the Pohang International Music Festival in Korea and Guiyang Symphony Orchestra in China; Belgrade Philharmonic in Serbia; Melbourne Symphony; and a recital at Wigmore Hall in London.

In March 2025, Signum Records released Fung’s debut album, a collection of opera fantasies and transcriptions for cello and piano, which is emblematic of Fung’s endless curiosity and his interest in unusual repertoire. The recording includes Fung’s own fantasy on Janáček’s Jenůfa and world premiere recordings of Marshall Estrin’s Fantasia Carmén and a virtually unknown transcription of Rossini’s William Tell by 19th-century composer François-George Hainl.

Fung 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, as well as the Baltimore, Dallas, Detroit, Seattle, Milwaukee, Utah, Rochester, and Kansas City Symphonies. 

Fung made his recital debut at Carnegie Hall in 2021 and was described by Bachtrackas "one of those rare musicians with a Midas touch: he quickly envelopes every score he plays in an almost palpable golden aura.” Other recent highlights include returns to Wigmore Hall and appearances at the Verbier, Dresden, Leoš Janáček International, and Tsinandali Festivals, Cello Biennale Amsterdam,  Bravo! Vail, Grant Park Music Festival and the Aspen Music Festival.

In addition to demonstrating a mastery of the canon with his impeccable technique, Fung brings exceptional insight into the depths of contemporary repertoire, championing composers such as Unsuk Chin, Katherine Balch, and Anna Clyne. In 2023, under the baton of Gemma New and with the Dallas Symphony, Fung gave the world premiere of Katherine Balch’s whisper concerto with “jaw-dropping brilliance” (Dallas Morning News) as the dedicatee of the work; he gave its UK premiere February 2024 with the BBC Philharmonic, conducted by Joshua Weilerstein.

A winner of the 2017 Young Concert Artists International Auditions and the 2017 Astral National Auditions, Fung has taken the top prizes at the 2018 Alice & Eleonore Schoenfeld International String Competition, the 2016 George Enescu International Cello Competition, and the 2015 Johansen International Competition for Young String Players, among others. He was selected as a 2016 US Presidential Scholar for the Arts and was awarded the 2016 Landgrave von Hesse Prize at the Kronberg Academy Cello Masterclasses.

Fung was a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship Winner in 2022 and awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2020. As a participant in WXQR’s Artist Propulsion Lab in 2023, he wrote The Elves and the Cello Maker, a radio play in which he also performed. Fung has been featured on NPR’s Performance Today and has appeared six times on NPR’s From the Top. 2024–2025 marks Fung’s first season on the cello faculty at his alma mater, The Juilliard School.

Of Bulgarian and Chinese heritage, Zlatomir Fung was born into a family of mathematicians and began playing cello at age three. Fung studied at The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Richard Aaron and Timothy Eddy, where he was a recipient of the Kovner Fellowship. Outside of music, his interests include chess, cinema, and creative writing.

Fung performs on two fine instruments: a circa 1735 Domenico Montagnana cello, on loan from a generous benefactor, and the 1696 “Lord Aylesford” Stradivarius, on loan from the Sasakawa Music Foundation (formerly the Nippon Music Foundation).

Updated December 2025