VC Artist Kian Soltani Joins Faculty at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna

The Austrian-Iranian cellist will be accepting four students from October 2023

Cellist and VC Artist Kian Soltani has recently been appointed to the faculty at Vienna's University of Music and Performing Arts (MDW). He will hold auditions for four positions in Vienna on September 29, 2023, and applications should be received by September 13.

Austrian-Iranian cellist Kian Soltani was born in Bregenz and was selected for the class of Ivan Monighetti at the Basel Music Academy at just twelve years old. His career took off in 2013 when he won the International Paulo Cello Competition in Helsinki. In February 2017, Soltani won Germany’s celebrated Leonard Bernstein Award and in December 2017, he was given the prestigious Credit Suisse Young Artist Award.

He has appeared with orchestras such as the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, WDR Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya — and was artist-in-residence at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in July 2021.

Soltani has won critical acclaim for his discography — including being given the Innovative Listening Experience Award at the 2022 Opus Klassik Awards for his album Cello Unlimited.

"I’m very excited about this new chapter in my musical life, and I’m looking forward to mentoring 4 exciting young players and help them reach their full musical and cellistic potential," Soltani told The Violin Channel.

"I will try to continue the tradition and belief that my beloved teacher Ivan Monighetti as instilled in me — to also guide the students outside cello playing, as the life of a musician does not only revolve around the instrument itself."

Information regarding the auditions (in German) can be found here, and you can apply via MDW's online portal.