Austrian-Iranian cellist wins $75,000 Swiss bank prize

Austrian-Iranian cellist wins $75,000 Swiss bank prize

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norman lebrecht

December 13, 2017

Kian Soltani, 25, has just been named Credit Suisse Young Artist of 2018, netting him 75,000 Swiss francs and a Lucerne concert with the Vienna Philharmonic and Franz Welser-Möst.

It’s turning into a bumper year for Kian. This summer he won a record deal from DG.

Comments

  • Pierre Fontenelle says:

    I’m glad Kian Soltani’s talent is being recognized. Strangely enough, right now, there’s 3 big cellists who are rising up extremely quickly, winning prizes, competitions, record deals. Most importantly, these cellists deserve what they are getting – just listening to their recitals live proves their talent, without a doubt.

    Kian Soltani – Austrian-Persian Cellist
    Pablo Ferrández – Spanish Cellist
    Santiago Cañón Valencia – Colombian Cellist

    • qwerty1234 says:

      Yes! All three are the real deal! Each are individual artists with their own style.

    • A Phan says:

      Couldn’t agree more. Kian’s Dvorak concerto is absolutely stunning. Pablo Ferrandez is wonderful, love his playing. Going to start digging into Valencia now.

      • Pierre Fontenelle says:

        I saw Valencia here in Brussels during the Queen Elisabeth Competition last year – I wasn’t absolutely stunned by his Schostakovitch Concerto in the Final (hey, it’s not exactly a piece of cake – and either way, he was still absolutely incredible!), but I loved his recital and Haydn Concerto in the semi-finals.

        If you manage to find it on Youtube, his interpretation of the Cassado Cello Suite is pretty damn good.

  • Elizabeth Owen says:

    Sol Gabetta?

    • Pierre Fontenelle says:

      Haha, yes of course! Since Sol Gabetta is already a major star, it’s difficult to think of her as up and coming 😉

      And of course, i’m missing out on a ton of other cellists right now – many french (Bruno Philippe, Aurélien Pascal, Narek Hakhnazaryan, etc. etc.) 😛

  • Manfred Langenegger says:

    …not forgetting Victor Julien-Laferrière, Queen Elisabeth Competition gold medalist!

  • Alex says:

    It’s not a Salzburg concert, it’s a Lucerne concert.

  • Pierre says:

    It’s a concert in lucerne not in salzburg

  • David Nice says:

    Iranian Austrian, to be clear. He is astoundingly good, as his Strauss Don Quixote with Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra at the Festival Hall proved.

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