Dvořák: Cello Concerto Kian Soltani, Staatskapelle Berlin & Daniel Barenboim

• Antonín Dvořák (1841 - 1904): Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104, B. 191:
• 1Antonín Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104, B. 191: I. Allegro15:49
• 2Antonín Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104, B. 191: II. Adagio ma non troppo12:06
• 3Antonín Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104, B. 191: III. Finale. Allegro moderato13:10
• Antonín Dvořák:
• 4Antonín Dvořák: 4 Lieder, Op. 82, B. 157: I. Lasst mich allein. Andante (Arr. Soltani For Solo Cello and Cello Ensemble)04:25
• 5Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95, B. 178, "From the New World": IV. Largo. Goin' Home (Arr. Koncz For Solo Cello and Cello Ensemble)05:31
• 6Antonín Dvořák: Gypsy Melodies, Op. 55, B. 104: IV. Songs My Mother Taught Me (Arr. Soltani For Solo Cello and Cello Ensemble)02:32
• 7Antonín Dvořák: 4 Romantic Pieces, Op. 75, B. 150: I. Allegro moderato (Arr. Soltani For Solo Cello and Cello Ensemble)02:56
• 8Antonín Dvořák: From the Bohemian Forest, Op. 68, B. 133: V. Silent Woods (Arr. Niefind & Ribke For Solo Cello and Cello Ensemble)05:59
• Total Runtime01:02:28

Info for Dvořák: Cello Concerto

Following his successful Deutsche Grammophon debut album “Home” Kian Soltani’s new album on DG features him interpreting Dvořák’s cello concerto, one of the great works of the classical repertoire. At his side is Maestro Daniel Barenboim accompanying him with the forces of the Staatskapelle Berlin.

“His cello sound has the fuzz and richness of caramel, and he plays with an easy warmth, drawing the orchestra after him like a halo around a candle flame.” (The Washington Post, USA) 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, UK)

The concerto is accompanied on the album by 5 arrangements for cello solo and cello ensemble (six cellists of the Staatskapelle Berlin) of well-known single pieces from various larger Dvořák works. Three of these were arranged by Kian Soltani himself. As an example listen to the following pre-release track Silent Woods No. 5 from The Bohemian Forest op. 68 (B133), Lento e molto cantabile — arranged for solo cello and cello ensemble by Lothar Niefind & Gunter Rib.

Kian Soltani, cello
Staatskapelle Berlin
Daniel Barenboim, conductor

Kian Soltani
Rave reviews and invitations to perform at the world’s leading concert halls have propelled the 25-year-old musician from rising star to one of the most exciting musicians of this generation.

Kian Soltani made his international breakthrough at the age of nineteen with acclaimed debuts in the Vienna Musikverein’s Goldener Saal and at the Hohenems Schubertiade. He attracted further worldwide attention in April 2013 as winner of the International Paulo Cello Competition in Helsinki where he was hailed by Ostinato magazine as “a soloist of the highest level among the new generation of cellists”.

In the summer of 2015 he joined Daniel Barenboim as one of the soloists in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, performing the work during the West Eastern Divan Orchestra’s Waldbühnenkonzert in Berlin, at the Salzburg and Lucerne festivals, at the BBC Proms in London, and at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.

Highlights of the 2017/18 season include performances at the Alte Oper Frankfurt, Philharmonie de Paris, Royal Festival Hall London, Kölner Philharmonie, Boulez Saal Berlin, Prinzregententheater Munich, Oslo Konserthus and the Hohenems Schubertiade, as well as appearances at the Salzburg, Verbier, Lucerne and Aix-en- Provence Easter Festivals. He will again join Barenboim and the West Eastern Divan Orchestra performing Strauss’ Don Quixote on a worldwide tour throughout 2017. His debut Deutsche Grammophon album, “Home”, comprising works for cello and piano by Schubert, Schumann and Reza Vali, is set for international release in January 2018.

Kian Soltani was born in Bregenz in 1992 to a family of Persian musicians. He began playing cello at an age four and was only twelve when he joined Ivan Monighetti’s class at the Basel Music Academy. He was chosen as an Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation scholarship holder in 2014, and completed his further studies as a member of the Young Soloist Programme at Germany’s Kronberg Academy. He received additional important musical training at the International Music Academy in Liechtenstein.

Kian Soltani plays on the “London” Stradivarius 1694 cello, on generous loan from the J & A Beare International Violin Society.

Booklet for Dvořák: Cello Concerto