Kian Soltani’s playing is characterized by its depth of expression, sense of individuality and technical mastery. One of today’s most talked about cellists, he appears with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors.
During the 2020/21 season, he has been asked to make his debut with orchestras such as the Munich Philharmonic, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as the Cincinnati, Atlanta and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestras. He has also toured with orchestras such as the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and Daniel Barenboim, as well as the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and Myung-Whun Chung.
Other recent highlights include performances with the Vienna and London Philharmonics and the Berlin Staatskapelle, as well as the Boston and Chicago Symphony Orchestras. As a recitalist, Kian Soltani has appeared at Carnegie Hall, the Salzburg and Lucerne Festivals, Wigmore Hall and the Boulez Saal in Berlin.
In 2017 he signed an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon who released his first disc Home, including works by Schubert, Schumann and Reza Vali, to international acclaim in February 2018. His latest disc appeared in August 2020 and features Dvořák’s Cello Concerto with the Staatskapelle Berlin and Daniel Barenboim.
Born in Bregenz to a family of Persian musicians, Kian Soltani began playing the cello at the age of four and was only 12 when he joined Ivan Monighetti’s class at the Basel Music Academy. He was chosen to be an Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation scholarship holder in 2014 and completed his further studies as a member of the Young Soloist Programme at the Kronberg Academy, as well as receiving important training at the International Music Academy in Liechtenstein. He attracted worldwide attention in April 2013 by winning the International Paulo Cello Competition in Helsinki, followed by the Leonard Bernstein Award and the Credit Suisse Young Artist Award in 2017.
Kian Soltani plays the ‘London, ex Boccherini’ Stradivarius cello, loaned to him by a generous sponsor through the Beare’s International Violin Society.
