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Kian Soltani

Cello
Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Artist-in-Residence

  • Hailed by The Times as a “remarkable cellist” and described by Gramophone as “sheer perfection”, Kian Soltani’s playing is characterised by profound depth of expression, sense of individuality and technical mastery, complemented by his charismatic stage presence. He now appears regularly with many of the world’s esteemed orchestras and conductors, firmly establishing himself as a leading voice among today’s generation of cellists.

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  • The 2526 season is highlighted by his performance with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra with Gianandrea Noseda at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, return to Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France under Daniel Harding as well as several much-anticipated debuts with Orchestre National de France, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Further highlights include European tour of WDR Sinfonieorchester with Cristian Măcelaru as well as his residency with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra during which he embarks on a European tour with their Chief Conductor Eva Ollikainen. As an active recitalist, he will tour Europe in trio with Renaud Capuçon and Mao Fujita, and in duo with Benjamin Grosvenor, while joining Andreas Ottensamer and Alessio Bax for performances across the United States.


    Soltani has performed with many leading ensembles such as the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Staatskapelle Berlin, Munich Philharmonic, Wiener Symphoniker, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, and Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He is also a frequent guest at prominent festivals such as Verbier, Rheingau Music Festival, Dvořák Prague Festival, Bregenzer Festspiele, Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Grafenegg, and Salzburg to name but a few.


    In 2017, Soltani signed an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon, releasing his acclaimed debut album Home in 2018 featuring works by Schubert, Schumann, and Reza Vali, described as “sublime” by Gramophone. He went on to record Dvořák’s Cello Concerto with the Staatskapelle Berlin and Daniel Barenboim in 2020 and released a Schumann album with Camerata Salzburg featuring the cello concerto and Lieder transcriptions in 2024. His 2021 album Cello Unlimited, a solo exploration of the cello’s expressive range and cinematic power, earned him the Innovative Listening Experience Award at the 2022 Opus Klassik Awards.


    Born in Bregenz, Austria, to a family of Persian musicians, Soltani began playing the cello at age four and was only twelve when he joined Ivan Monighetti’s class at the Basel Music Academy. He was the recipient of Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation scholarship in 2014 and completed further studies at the Kronberg Academy in Germany and International Music Academy in Liechtenstein.


    Kian Soltani plays “The London, ex Boccherini" Antonio Stradivari cello, kindly loaned to him by a generous sponsor through the Beares International Violin Society.

    2025/26 season / 435 words. Not to be altered without permission.

    Intermusica represents Kian Soltani worldwide.

Performances

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Concerto repertoire

Bloch 
Schelomo


Boccherini
Cello Concertos


Bruch
Kol Nidrei


Dvorák
Cello Concerto in B minor, Op.104


Elgar
Cello Concerto in E minor, Op.85


Gulda
Cello Concerto


Haydn
Cello Concerto in C major, Hob. VIIb/1
Cello Concerto in D major, Hob. VIIb/2


Kabalevsky
Cello Concerto No. 2 in C minor


Khachaturian
Cello Concerto in E minor


Lalo
Cello Concerto


Lutoslawski
Cello Concerto


Popper
Hungarian Rhapsody, Op. 68 


Prokofiev
Sinfonia concertante, Op. 125 


Romberg
Concertino for 2 Cellos


Saint-Saëns
Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor


Helmut Schmidinger
Cello Concerto (written for Kian Soltani) 


Schnittke
Triple Concerto for Violin, Viola and Cello


Schumann
Cello Concerto


Shostakovich
Cello Concerto No.1 in E-flat major, Op.107
Cello Concerto N.2 in G minor, Op.126


Strauss
Don Quixote, Op.35


Tan Dun
Elegy, Snow in June, for Cello and 4 Percussionists


Tchaikovsky
Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op.33
Nocturne
Pezzo capriccioso


Reza Vali
Cello Concerto (written for Kian Soltani) 
Double Concerto (written for Kian Soltani)


Walton
Cello Concerto


Vivaldi
Cello Concertos

Conductors

Marin Alsop
Daniel Barenboim
Lionel Bringuier
Semyon Bychkov
Karina Canellakis
Elim Chan
Alpesh Chauhan
Myung-whun Chung
Nicholas Collon
Péter Csaba
Christoph Eschenbach
James Gaffigan
Edward Gardner
Daniele Gatti
Gustavo Gimeno
Patrick Hahn
Antony Hermus
Manfred Honeck
Jakub Hrůša
Marie Jacquot
Paavo Järvi
James Judd
Clemens Schuldt
Alexander Shelley
Cristian Măcelaru
Joana Mallwitz
Ivan Monighetti
Gianandrea Noseda
Eva Ollikainen
Andrés Orozco-Estrada
Antonio Pappano
Itzhak Perlman
Vassily Petrenko
Petr Popelka
Markus Poschner
Lahav Shani
Giedrė Šlekytė
Tugan Sokhiev
Dalia Stasevska
John Storgårds
Robin Ticciati
Robert Trevino
Krzysztof Urbański
Franz Welser-Möst
Joshua Weilerstein
Simone Young
Jaap van Zweden


 

Kian Soltani was the sublime cello soloist, effortlessly lyrical and profoundly touching in the closing moments... The whole thing was outstanding – the best performance of the work I’ve heard live.

The Guardian

He’s a remarkable cellist, with a piercingly beautiful tone and utterly pure intonation.

The Times

Sheer perfection... [Soltani] has all the qualities needed to win consistent critical acclaim, namely innate musicality, a yielding svelte tone, an agile bowing arm and a skilful deployment of varied vibrato. Listening to him is a great pleasure.

Gramophone

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Intermusica represents Kian Soltani Worldwide

Aimee Chow
Joint Head of Artist Management
+44 20 7608 9949
achow@intermusica.com


Senior Artist Manager - German-speaking territories only



Hazel Park
Associate Artist Manager
+44 20 7608 9948
hpark@intermusica.com

All artists

Contralto

Avery Amereau

Actor / Narrator

Amira Casar

Chansonnier

HK Gruber

Harpsichord

Richard Egarr

Piano accompanist

Roger Vignoles