Soltani is Credit Suisse Young Artist 2018
Cellist Kian Soltani is to be honored with the Credit Suisse Young Artist Award, which comes with CHF 75,000 in prize money. The prize, which is closely associated with the Lucerne Festival, will be awarded for the tenth time in 2018.
Cellist Kian Soltani comes from a family of Persian musicians. He was born in Bregenz, Austria, in 1992 and began his cello studies at the age of twelve with Ivan Monighetti at the Basel Music Academy. He also took part in masterclasses with Sol Gabetta and Jens Peter Maintz, among others, and completed his studies as a "Young Soloist" with Frans Helmerson at Kronberg Academy.
In 2015 and 2017, Kian Soltani performed as solo cellist with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra under the direction of Daniel Barenboim at the Lucerne Festival. The prize includes a concert with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra as part of the Summer Festival. This will take place on September 8, 2018 under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst in the concert hall of the KKL Lucerne.
The Credit Suisse Young Artist Award is an initiative of the Lucerne Festival, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Gesellschaft für Musikfreunde Wien and the Credit Suisse Foundation. Outstanding young musical personalities receive the award for exceptional achievements. The prizewinners receive funding and an opportunity to perform at the Lucerne Festival. The prize is awarded every two years (alternating with the Prix Credit Suisse Jeunes Solistes for the promotion of highly talented young musicians in Switzerland).
