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Kian Soltani

Cello Unlimited

Deutsche Grammophon

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Tackle Stage Fright with Kian
1 Up is Down  
2 One Day  
3 Jack Sparrow  
4 Prologue  
5 Minas Tirith  
6 Mordor and Isengard (From  
7 Memories of Rivendell  
8 The Final Battle  
9 Epilogue. Into the West  
10 Intermezzo. A Scene from the Past  
11 Tango  
12 Main Theme  
13 Chevaliers De Sangreal  
14 Love and Death  
15 Cello Unlimited  
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Kian Soltani will never forget his first encounter with Spider-Man. The Austrian-Iranian cellist was just ten when he saw the first of Sam Raimi's epic movies about Peter Parker and his superhuman spider-like powers. He was held spellbound by its visuals and by its soundtrack, the experience sparking a lasting love affair with film. The enormous pleasure and inspiration Soltani takes from the cinema come together in his latest album for Deutsche Grammophon, a voyage through movie music like no other. Cello Unlimited, set for international release on 8 October 2021, offers a uniquely personal take on unforgettable themes and epic musical thrills from, among others, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Lord of the Rings, The Bourne Identity and The Da Vinci Code.

"Everything on this album is made exclusively with the cello," explains the cellist. Soltani recorded every note himself, from soaring solo melodies to infectious percussion sounds, mighty orchestral chords to whistling countermelodies. Having chosen his favourite film scores, he reimagined them for a supersized cello ensemble and played each part by ear. Multitrack recording sessions at Berlin's Emil Berliner Studios, a giant leap from Soltani's early experiments with his iPhone's GarageBand app, enabled him to construct deep layers of sound and uncanny contrasts of tonal light and shade, always by recording without reference to notes on a page. The painstaking creative approach, a genuine labour of love, was emotional and intuitive, rooted in what the cellist described as his immediate "aural impression" of scores conceived for the big screen.

When lockdowns were imposed last year, Soltani's live schedule was transformed overnight from packed to near empty. He returned to his archive of film score arrangements, essentially documents of ideas recorded in the moment, and it occurred to him they contained the makings of a recording project. "I realised it would take a lot of time," he recalls. "But I now had a lot of time! So I thought, why not give it everything? Why not spend all the time I have pursuing a dream I've had for many, many years, to create an album made exclusively from my own arrangements of epic movie scores."

  • Kian Soltani joins faculty at Vienna's 'University of Music and Performing Arts' / THE VIOLIN CHANNEL
    Posted At: August 30, 2023
    Hailed by The Times as a “remarkable cellist” and described by Gramophone as “sheer perfection”, Kian Soltani’s playing is characterised by a depth of expression, sense of individuality and technical mastery, alongside a charismatic stage presence and ability to create an immediate emotional connection with his audience. He is now invited by the world’s leading orchestras, conductors and recital promoters, ...

  • Kian Soltani plays some terrific Dvorak / ClassicsToday
    Posted At: November 18, 2020

    There have been so many recordings of Dvořák's Cello Concerto that it's difficult to work up much enthusiasm for yet another one. However, as I always say, a great performance is its own justification, no doubt about it, this is a great performance. Kian Soltani plays the piece vigorously, first and foremost. Even the more lyrical passages, such as the second subject of the first movement, th...

  • What a tone Kian Soltani produces on his 'Dvorak Cello Concerto' with Staatskapelle Berlin under Barenboim / theWholeNote
    Posted At: October 2, 2020

    Kian Soltani is the soloist in the Dvořák Cello Concerto with Daniel Barenboim conducting the Staatskapelle Berlin in a performance recorded live in concert at the Berlin Philharmonie in October 2018 (Deutsche Grammophon 00028948360901 kiansoltani.com/discography). Barenboim has been general music director of the orchestra since 1992, and the lengthy but lovely orchestral start to the con...

  • Kian Soltani - Dvorak Cello Concerto, Staat Berlin, Barenboim is the WFMT: Featured New Release
    Posted At: August 17, 2020

    Praised by The Washington Post for playing with "an easy warmth, drawing the orchestra after him like a halo around a candle flame," cellist Kian Soltani follows his debut album, Home, with an album of works by Antonín Dvořák, centered on the famous Cello Concerto. Featuring conductor Daniel Barenboim and the Berlin Staatskapelle, the concerto is paired with five arrangements of belove...

  • Meet VC Artist - Kian Soltani
    Posted At: August 25, 2018

    VC Artist Kian Soltani has in recent years firmly established an international reputation as one of the new generation's most prodigious young concert artists. The 26 year old Persian-Austrian cello virtuoso has in recent years been praised for his technical mastery and profound, mature conviction. Soltani recently toured as the featured soloist with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, performing S...

  • Kian Soltani - Home is the WFMT: Featured New Release
    Posted At: March 8, 2018

    A protegé of Anne-Sophie Mutter and Daniel Barenboim, 25-year-old cellist Kian Soltani releases his debut DG album performed with pianist Aaron Pilsan, Home. Reflecting his Austrian and Persian roots, Home features Schubert's Sonata in A Minor (Arpeggione) and Schumann's "Du bist wie eine Blume," as well as world premiere recordings of Iranian composer Reza Vali's&n...
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