Kian Soltani has established himself as a leading voice in the current generation of cellists. His performances are characterized by profound expression and technical mastery, coupled with a charismatic stage presence. He has performed with many leading ensembles worldwide, including the Tonhalle Orchestra, Zurich, the Staatskapelle Berlin, the Munich Philharmonic, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the NHK Symphony Orchestra. He is also a regular performer at leading festivals such as the Rheingau Music Festival, the Dvořák Prague Festival, the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, and the festivals of Verbier, Grafenegg, Bregenz and Salzburg.
Highlights of the 2025/26 season have included performances with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra under Gianandrea Noseda at the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, his return to the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France under Daniel Harding and his debuts with the Orchestre National de France and the symphony orchestras of Sydney, New Zealand, Atlanta and St Louis. He also toured Europe with the WDR Symphony Orchestra under Cristian Măcelaru and with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra under Eva Ollikainen.
As a sought-after chamber musician, his appearances have included duo recitals with the pianist Benjamin Grosvenor at the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin and the Wigmore Hall in London, along with performances with Renaud Capuçon and Mao Fujita, and concerts in the USA with Andreas Ottensamer and Alessio Bax.
Since 2017 he has been an exclusive artist with Deutsche Grammophon. His debut album Home, featuring works by Schubert, Schumann and Reza Vali, was followed by recordings including Beethoven’s complete piano trios with Daniel and Michael Barenboim. He received the OPUS Klassik in 2022 for his solo album Cello Unlimited. Most recently he released a Schumann album with Camerata Salzburg in 2024.
Kian Soltani was born in Bregenz, and is the son of Persian musicians. At the age of twelve he entered Ivan Monighetti’s class at the Basel Academy of Music. He received a scholarship from the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation and completed further studies at the Kronberg Academy and the International Academy of Music in Liechtenstein.
Kian Soltani plays the cello ‘London, ex Boccherini’ made by Antonio Stradivari, which was kindly provided to him by a generous sponsor through the Beare’s International Violin Society.
