Kian Soltani

»The cello bow seemed one with his arm, his fingers flew across the fingerboard as if it were the most natural thing in the world… an unforgettable musical experience.« Seen and Heard International on Soltani’s performance of Schumann’s Cello Concerto with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich in September 2023 Exclusive interviews with Kian Soltani Watch on STAGE+ Individuality, expression, and presence characterize the artistic abilities of Austrian cellist Kian Soltani. In a remarkably short time, enthusiastic reviews, but above all invitations to major international concert halls, have transformed him from a young star into one of the most exciting musicians of his generation. In 2017, Soltani's standing was further confirmed when he not only received the coveted Leonard Bernstein Award from the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival (in February) and the Credit Suisse Young Artist Award (in December), but also signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon (in July). His first DG album, Home, featuring works for cello and piano by Schubert, Schumann, and Reza Vali, was released to widespread critical acclaim in February 2018. This was followed by three chamber music albums with Daniel and Michael Barenboim: Mozart’s Piano Quartets, recorded live at the Pierre Boulez Saal with Yulia Deyneka (released in August 2018); all of Mozart’s Piano Trios (2019); and all of Beethoven’s Piano Trios (2020). Also in 2020, Soltani released an all-Dvořák album. In addition to the Cello Concerto, in which he is accompanied by the Staatskapelle Berlin and Daniel Barenboim, it contains five other pieces by the composer in arrangements for solo cello and cello ensemble (with cellists from the Staatskapelle Berlin). Soltani himself created three of these arrangements: Allegro moderato from Romantic Pieces Op. 75, “Lasst mich allein” from Four Songs Op. 82, and “Als die alte Mutter sang” from Gypsy Melodies Op. 55. The album Cello Unlimited was released in October 2021, a tribute to his instrument and a journey through film music. Soltani is not only an interpreter here, but also an arranger and composer. He arranged film scores by Hans Zimmer and Howard Shore, among others, and recorded every part himself. The album won the OPUS Klassik in 2022 in the Innovative Listening Experience category. On his latest album, Soltani performs Schumann’s Cello Concerto as well as four other newly orchestrated works by the composer with the Camerata Salzburg, conducting from the cello. He also presents his own transcriptions for cello and piano of songs by Robert and Clara Schumann, accompanied by French pianist Julien Quentin. Kian Soltani – Schumann was released in September 2024. Soltani’s future highlights include several appearances at the Cello Biennale in Amsterdam (November 2–10), including a concert with the Cello Unlimited program, which he will perform together with seven winners of the Dutch Cello Competition, the world premiere of the Cello Concerto by Azerbaijani composer Franghiz Ali-Zadeh with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, a concert featuring traditional and modern Persian music, and Kabalevsky’s Cello Concerto No. 2 with the Residentie Orkest. He will perform Korngold’s Cello Concerto with the Berner Symphonieorchester (November 14/15) and Prokofiev’s Sinfonia concertante with the hr-Sinfonieorchester in Frankfurt (November 21/22). On January 15, he will present another world premiere, the Cello Concerto composed for him by Austrian Marcus Nigsch (aka Marque) with the Wiener Symphoniker at the Wiener Musikverein. He will subsequently perform the work in Graz, Salzburg, and Bregenz. Kian Soltani was born in Bregenz in 1992 to a Persian musical family. He began playing the cello at the age of four and, at 12, entered the class of Ivan Monighetti at the renowned Musik-Akademie der Stadt Basel. He remained under Monighetti’s tutelage for 11 years, internalizing the teachings of this last student of Mstislav Rostropovich at the Moscow Conservatory. His international breakthrough came in 2011 at the age of 19 with debuts in the Golden Hall of the Wiener Musikverein and at the Schubertiade in Hohenems. He gained worldwide attention in April 2013 as the winner of the International Paulo Cello Competition in Helsinki. In 2014, he received a scholarship from the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation and further perfected his skills as a member of the Kronberg Academy’s Young Soloists program and at the International Music Academy in Liechtenstein. In addition to his work as a concert soloist and chamber musician, Soltani was principal cellist of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra (WEDO). In 2015, alongside Daniel Barenboim, he was among the soloists in Beethoven’s “Triple Concerto” during the orchestra’s performances in Berlin, at the Salzburg and Lucerne Festivals, the BBC Proms in London, and the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. Further early career highlights include tours with Anne-Sophie Mutter and the Mutter’s Virtuosi; his participation in the opening week of the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin in March 2017; an appearance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the Tanglewood Gala Concert celebrating Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday in August 2018; and debuts at the Berlin State Opera, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Carnegie Hall in New York, and the Royal Festival Hall and Cadogan Hall in London, among others. Since October 2023, he has held a professorship at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Kian Soltani plays the “London ex Boccherini 1694” Stradivarius, thanks to a generous loan. 10/2024