Zlatomir Fung: "I don't want to be known for winning Tchaikovsky"| Classical Chats with Tiffany Poon

[@amayaamigo4280]

"what you're doing gives me cause to be optimistic" ... That was the cutest comment ever 😭😭😭❤

[@DrQuizzler]

I think this may be my new favorite one of these chats. I was going to watch it in segments, but the time just flew by. You and he challenged each other a lot in this chat, so I think we ended up learning a lot about BOTH of you.

[@ornleifs]

This was such an interesting conversation, really liked the vibe and flow and the info imparted.

[@mariawood5784]

What a fantastic interview. Thank you so much for such an insightful discussion ❤

[@mytube785]

I wrote down the following when I introduced this video to my close friends: Zlatomir Fung is a Bulgarian-Chinese American cellist who started playing cello at 3 years of old. He is interviewed by Tiffany Poon who is a Hong Kong American pianist, started playing piano at 4 years old. Zlatomir is 24 and Tiffany is 27 (as of 2024), and they’re the new generation of classical musicians. In this interview, they talked about their personal experiences, motivations and viewpoints about music and arts - and the making of arts. It is an excellent portal into their inner psyches, and it is interesting to learn what makes musicians like them tick. Zlatomir also seems very natural and good at presenting himself: his thoughts, voice, laughters and body language seem merge into a thoughtful whole. Tiffany is very sensitive, witty and quick, with depth in thoughts and probing questions.

[@lsim001]

Really enjoyed this interview. The broad discussion of Zlatomir's thoughts about the struggle and experiencing music was great.

[@randyarnold6361]

Thank you, Tiffany! This gave me a chance to hear things that are meaningful about both of you. I would suggest to both of you that when you are talking about the role of classical music in modern society, to me, what you are actually talking about is the lack of education about this wonderful art form that has been passed down to us. About 70 years ago, when I was in elementary school, we had "music appreciation" most days. It consisted of us listening to classical music after our afternoon recess period and was used as a breather for us so that we would settle down after the exertion outside but also it gave us the opportunity to hear truly wonderful music. The teacher was never upset if someone dozed off, we were just gently awakened to get ready for spelling or whatever came next. But we were never tested on what we had heard, we just had a brief discussion about how we felt about the music. Sometimes, if the music was something like the William Tell overture or the Grand Canyon Suite, we would talk about the story inside the music. It was wonderful and stayed with me my entire life. Many of my friends from school will bring up the subject and talk about how that added a new dimension to their lives. They no longer do such things in school. It is not covered in the standardized tests... Sorry about being so long winded! Keep doing what we all love! 🤠

[@oxoelfoxo]

music appreciation in school sounds awesome. if the kids can't be taught to play, at least they're helped to appreciate!

[@AdrianTangMusic]

thank you for giving us all access to such an insightful and thought-provoking conversation!

[@topturretgunner]

Really happy to see this. It’s good to reach out this way and expose folks to the world of classical music.

[@PaulIvers]

So good to have Classical Chats back! For an introvert you do a pretty decent job of developing a conversation with your guests. I am always interested in hearing the motivations behind artistic expression and he was very open and sincere. Thank you Zlatomir. This was obviously recorded before the release of your album. It would have been interesting to see how its success would have added to the conversation.

[@chinwendall9022]

so good...great thoughts on innovation and the challenge of authentic new composing 🎯🎶❤

[@vivatmusica]

Great interview and fascinating to hear Zlatomir's experience and musical insights. Thank you Tiffany for recording this!

[@avatar19822]

Can we get a duo of you two playing some time?

[@mytube785]

Yes! That’d be so awesome !! By Christmas ??

[@CozyDragon-ve7mt]

This is a truly fantastic interview with Zlatormir. Thank you Tiffany. 🎼🎵🎶🎹

[@tombufford136]

Your guest spoke with a rich voice with bursts of infectious laughter. This had some 'charm' away from the deep issues of classical music discussed by two high standard proponents of this artform.

[@matthodek]

That was absolutely fantastic to listen to. I was very impressed and inspired by the thoughts you both had to share. I am one of those not-exactly-a-musician people who has greatly enjoyed Tiffany's work, and I love seeing people nerd out about things they are passionate about. Cello is also my favorite instrument (sorry Tiffany), so I will certainly be looking up Zlatomir's work. 🎵✨️

[@topturretgunner]

I love both cello and piano. So this interview is quite interesting.

[@RMPdude]

Great interview! Thank you both!

[@DorothyOzmaLover]

This is such a treasure for the inspiring notes and energy.

[@donkeychan491]

A charming and thought-provoking discussion. Gave me a real insight into a world so different from my own.

[@kpunkt.klaviermusik]

I often think classical music is too serious to really be understood by masses of people. But many seem just to like the "Nervenkitzel"-Effekt of it as we say in German. The real meaning of the music is perhaps only understood by very few people, who are mostly musicians themselves. Very interesting and funny interview!

[@MariiaKurtynina]

Thank you for the interview! Thoughts about competition help me being more relaxed about it ❤

[@henrikmulders8633]

Good answers - good reacting questions. You really listened, which makes for a good interview rather than just working down a list of prepared questions with preconceived notions.

[@Ward625]

I like the fact that he is half Bulgarian

[@eleanderolyphant9385]

Would be cool if they played a little piece at the end

[@pppppp0611]

27:34 someone should tell this man about capitalism

[@sanguanapiromyanon6027]

Tiffany very good

[@張驃]

Zlatomir came to hk awhile ago

[@militaryandemergencyservic3286]

what a great interviewer Tiffany is. Of course, she is an even better pianist. In my opinion she is the best of all the younger generation of pianists - and on a par with Lisitsa, Volodos etc. She far surpasses Wang. Just my opinion. But my teacher (from Gnessin) comes from the Beethoven AND Tchaikovsky lineage.

[@busingyefavour9477]

What about trifonov and seong jin cho and so many others

[@doobeedoo2]

Can you have this deep aesthetic experience if you don't play music or understand the players' achievement?

[@neilkilleen3911]

I really enjoyed this- You listen well and are good at probing a topic below the surface. The discussion around the dumbing down of everything that matters is important. The marketing trend of “do this simple thing that nobody has thought of before and you will be awesome/cured” is really disturbing It is, in my opinion, linked to the loss of truth and fact, mainly fostered by the internet where you can write anything and find anything. The corallary is that today, the more outrageous your claim, the less proof you need for people to believe you Until we can rediscover truth, I think we’ve little hope to escape the TikTok-ification of the meaning. Ooh I’m a pessimist ! I do have one little bit of feedback on your interview technique, I hope you see this as constructive ! On a few occasions, you asked something and then immediately interrupted your guest with your own speculative answer. Now it did not appear to bother him, but it might others. IMHO better to allow people to respond.

[@martinosimionato1536]

I ship you

[@walterchin8832]

I'd like you Tiffany and Zlatomir play a duo piano and cello. Just interview and no musical interlude are boring.

[@nicholasscott686]

Whilst music is universal, I suspect the popularity of so called classical music, lets call it complex music, in the 19th century was an aberration related to the rise of the middle class in the West. Earlier, sacred music was a bastion, but during the Baroque complex music was the preserve of connoiseseurs & I think we are returning to that baseline. But you tube helps our minority to connect.

[@NoName-zn1sb]

Good job interviewing yourself.

[@edvinportuly1398]

On justify oneself song biginen,,wolen me faren, in rgendwe

[@whoisthispianist194]

Fung has won the most prestigious competition in the world. So long as he maintains his standard his career is pretty much assured, yet he acts as if he’s almost embarrassed and ashamed every time the Tchaikovsky Competition comes up and says he’d like to get to a point where nobody ever talks about his victory. Why? There’s nothing shameful about his triumph. This interview is actually very revealing - he is a troubled soul. He tries to be charming by telling Tiffany she’s an inspiration to him, but it quickly backfires because when she asks him what he likes about her work, or why he finds his history professor inspiring he can’t answer the question. The praise appears to be disingenuous. There are many edits to this conversation, one can’t help but wonder what was left out and why. I’m left with the impression Fung might be clinically depressed. He is self-loathing and in a deep state of despair about his perceived inadequacies as a cellist. He’s pessimistic about the future of classical music, severely stressed about the difficult, rootless travelling lifestyle he is currently forced to live, and frustrated by how superficial audiences can be. At times he gives us the impression that he experiences profound joy and fulfilment from the profundity of fine Art music, but relationship with great art is thrown into question when he talks enthusiastically about the one Artist that almost everyone who loves classical music wants to get away from - Taylor Swift. Those who retreated to this tiny corner of the internet hoping they would be safe from hearing any discussion about Swift will be disappointed, there is no escape from pubescent, superficial music being forced into every corner of our lives by her label - a corporate giant. Like everyone who wins the Tchaikovsky Competition Fung is an utterly brilliant instrumentalist. I hope he finds better mental health in the future, but will he? The lifestyle he is living is extremely challenging both mentally and physically. Is it actually worth the toll it is taking on his mind and body?

[@uxnosidda]

no way this wasn't written by chatgpt

[@whoisthispianist194]

@@uxnosidda what makes you think chatgbt dislikes Taylor Swift?

[@denniswong1438]

This conversation seems genuinely awkward sharing between 2 musical artist in progress.

[@whoisthispianist194]

I was so disappointed when he said he is a Taylor Swift fan.

[@nicholasfaht]

He's entitled to like whatever he wants to

[@uxnosidda]

ngl you need to shake it off

[@whoisthispianist194]

@@nicholasfaht and I am entitled to be disappointed.

[@NoName-zn1sb]

There's something terribly wrong with your audio! Frequently there is a crashing noise or whooshing that is frighteningly startling. Please see what you can to to make it stop. Because if you can't, I'll not watch your videos any more. Thank you.

[@violinbuff3782]

Zlatomir is a beautiful artist and a lovely person too! Eric Shumsky