Star cellist Kian Soltani and his unmistakable sound

DW (English)

Kian Soltani is an Austrian cellist with Persian roots. We caught up with him at Bonn’s Beethovenfest, where his virtuosity is causing quite the stir.

Transcript

00:00There are many cellists in the world, but none that sound quite like Kian Soltani.

00:09A star of the classical music scene, critics have compared his tone to the richness of caramel.

00:20For Kian, it's more than just notes on a page. It's emotion itself.

00:25When I'm on stage, all I care about is expressing something to the audience and creating this amazing feeling of what I call flow.

00:33When you're really in the zone and in the moment and you forget actually all of this, you completely forget about it.

00:40You forget about left hand, right hand. You just think about the expression.

00:49Today, Kian is rehearsing with the Deutsches Sinfonie Orchester Berlin.

00:53It's for his performance at this year's Beethoven Fest in Bonn.

00:57But the festival's namesake is more than just a great composer to Kian.

01:02Beethoven, you know, if you would come to my practice room, you will see above the piano, there's a huge portrait of Beethoven.

01:10So he's actually my number one composer. And I bought that portrait here in Bonn, actually.

01:15The first time I came to Bonn, which is many, many years ago, I think more than ten years ago.

01:23Kian has a distinct sound, complemented by an equally distinct instrument, a historic Stradivari cello.

01:31Built over 300 years ago, its craftsmanship and sound remain unmatched.

01:36When Kian picks it up, it's not just an instrument in his hands, but a piece of musical history.

01:46The name of the instrument is called the Ex Boccherini.

01:50And Boccherini was a very, very famous cellist and composer.

01:54Every cellist plays Boccherini. He's like our hero, kind of.

01:57And so apparently this cello used to belong to him.

02:00Now, I don't know if he really played on it much or not, but just the idea of it is already very inspiring.

02:05Kian's musical journey on the cello began at the tender age of four.

02:13He grew up in a family of musicians, his mother a harpist, his father a bassoonist.

02:20They moved to Austria from Tehran.

02:23The family's shared love for both classical and Persian folk music brings them together regularly.

02:29Once or twice a year, I perform together with my father on stage.

02:32We have like an ensemble of traditional Persian music combined with cello,

02:37which is of course not a Persian instrument at all.

02:39And that sort of bridge, that fusion from east to west, that is so interesting for me also as a classically trained cellist,

02:47to reconnect with my roots like that.

02:50Aside from practicing, there's another routine Kian sticks to regularly.

02:54Even on concert days, he exercises.

02:57It's about balance and making up for all the sitting during concerts, rehearsals and travel.

03:04In my twenties, I had like a personal trainer.

03:06A friend of mine who used to be a cellist herself, who became a personal trainer.

03:10That was perfect for me.

03:11So she really knew exactly what we need as musicians.

03:14And she was like a really eye-opening experience for me to work with her.

03:17That really helped me to understand the importance of being fit as a musician.

03:24Especially if you travel as much as I do.

03:31For Kian, being on stage is about building a connection with the audience.

03:36At the concert in Bonn, it's clear he did just that.

03:46He did something very special.

03:48Like, it very touched my heart.

03:50The cello player, Soltani, it was unbelievably good.

03:55It was really great. I really loved the solo cellist.

03:59It was really fantastic.

04:01For Kian, Soltani, music isn't just about technical perfection.

04:09It's about feeling.

04:17And it's that feeling that he hopes the audience will take home with them.

04:31To the audience, please, don't do the same thing.

04:32So let's get a feeling that, you know, that's what the audience wants.

04:34So what Mcётen has around to my experience of having a tour.

04:36It's about how the character is to have a network of people.

04:37To the audience, to the audience to see a channel.

04:38I think they're gonna be able to talk about the internet.

04:39To the audience who's a friend who's a friend.

04:40That's what I really deserved to know.

04:42So now we're sichring to the audience.

04:43To the audience, we're sitting here and having to talk a little bit.

04:44I'm going to talk about the audience.

04:45I don't even know.

04:46They're a lot better.

04:47I think we're not afraid of the audience.

04:49We're not going to talk a little bit.

04:50So, let's look at the audience.

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