Aiken Symphony
Zlatomir Fung, Cello
Saturday, March 7, 2020, 7:30 pm,
Etherredge Center Scheherazade “The Thousand & One Nights”
Fledermaus: Overture Johann Strauss, Jr. Cello Concerto, Op. 129, A Minor
Robert Schumann
Zlatomir Fung, Cello
INTERMISSION
Scheherazade, Op. 35 Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
The overture to the operetta “Die Fliedermaus,” (The Bat), was produced in 1874 by J. Strauss, who was widely acclaimed for his waltzes and conducting prowess. Fliedermaus was Strauss’s second venture into theatre where the libretto and score became instantly popular, earning him the title, “Operetta King.” R. Schumann’s Cello Concerto was completed in a fortnight in 1850. The work was never performed in his lifetime. The concerto is written in three movements and has been described as a highly ingenious weaving of cello and orchestra. Our cello concerto soloist, Zlatomir Fung, was born in Oregon and is of Bulgarian-Chinese heritage. He attended the New England Conservatory Preparation School, and presently is the Kovnar Fellowship recipient at The Juilliard School. Mr. Fung has captured multiple first prizes in the Young Concert Artists competition, and has performed with symphony orchestras across the U.S., Romania, Bucharest, and Switzerland. Without question “Scheherazade” is Rimsky-Korsakov’s most famous work, thus far maintaining unabated its popularity at symphony concerts. Built on material from The Arabian Nights, it is Rimsky-Korsakov’s most descriptive music, full of the colors of the Orient and touched with its subtle flavors. “Scheherazade” was composed in 1888, and premiered in St. Petersburg.