Kian Soltani

Cellist Kian Soltani brings warmth and nuance to his eclectic work. On 2019’s Complete Mozart Trios, his rich, velvety tone provides counterpoint to violin and piano, while 2021’s movie-score-heavy Cello Unlimited offers careful reinterpretations of notable film music with equal parts whimsy and solemnity. Soltani was born in 1992 in Bregenz, Austria, into a family of musicians of Persian descent. This musical environment spurred him to pick up the cello at age four and earn a spot in Ivan Monighetti’s prestigious class at the Basel Music Academy at age 12. Professional success came quickly, as Soltani won the International Paulo Cello Competition in 2013 and several major awards in 2017, including Germany’s Leonard Bernstein Award. During the 2020-21 season, he debuted with the Munich Philharmonic and various American symphony orchestras. Soltani paired this work with a busy recording schedule that included 2020's Dvořák: Cello Concerto, on which he arranged and performed works for solo and cello ensembles.