Download Biography Nicolas Altstaedt, cello

Biography Nicolas Altstaedt, cello
Nicolas Altstaedt, born in 1982 into a family of German and French descent, was one of
Boris Pergamenschikow's last students in Berlin at the Hanns Eisler Hochschule, where he
has continued his studies with Eberhard Feltz.
After having won several international competitions he was awarded with the “Borletti
Buitoni Trust Fellowship” in 2009 and the „Preis der Kulturstiftung Dortmund“ in 2010.
Early 2010 Nicolas Altstaedt was as well honoured with the “Credit Suisse Young Artist
Award 2010” as part of which he was given the honour to play Schumann’s cello concerto
with the Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel at the Lucerne
Festival. Since early September 2010 he belongs to the few young artists selected for the
BBC’s New Generation Artist’s scheme. This award includes concerts and recordings with
all BBC orchestras, as well as chamber music performances and recitals at the Proms and
the Wigmore Hall.
Nicolas Altstaedt has been suggested by Gidon Kremer to become his successor as the
new artistic director of the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival from 2012. The festival is
also presenting programmes at the Mozarteum Salzburg, the Wiener Konzerthaus and
the Concertgebouw Amsterdam.
Highlights of past and upcoming seasons are concerts with the Tonhalle Orchestra
Zurich, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony, Japan Century
Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Kremerata Baltica, Tapiola Sinfonietta,
Camerata Bern, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Simon Bolivar Orchestra, the
Munich, Zurich and Stuttgart Chamber Orchestras, as well as with Bamberg Symphony
Orchestra, the Melbourne- and New Zealand Symphony Orchestras and the Radio
Symphony Orchestras Berlin, Stuttgart and Helsinki as well as Tchaikovsky Symphony
Orchestra. He performed under the baton of Sir Neville Marriner, David Zinman, Neeme
Järvi, Sir Roger Norrington, Sir Andrew Davies, Michail Jurowski, Adam Fischer, Vladimir
Fedosseev, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Jeffrey Tate, Mario Venzago, Dennis Russell Davies,
Andrea Marcon, Alexander Shelley and Andrej Boreyko.
2013/2014 he is Artist in Residence with the Scharoun Ensemble Berlin at the Zermatt
Festival, with the Österreichisch-Ungarische Haydn-Philharmonie as well as the
Musikkollegium Winterthur (2014/2015).
He feels a deep commitment to contemporary composers, and works together with
Thomas Adès, Jörg Widmann, Matthias Pintscher, Sofia Gubaidulina, Moritz Eggert, Fazil
Say and HK Gruber. 2006 he performed the Swiss premiere of Georg Friedrich Haas’ cello
concerto with Basel Symphony Orchestra, 2011 he played György Kurtág’s double
concerto on the occastion of the composer’s 85th anniversary in Budapest, 2012 the cello
concerto „Versuchung“ on the occassion of the 60th anniversary of Wolfgang Rihm. In
2014 the German premiere of Nico Muhly’s cello concerto in Frankfurt will follow.
His chamber music partners, amongst others, are Alexander Lonquich, Pekka Kuusisto,
Barnabás Kelemen, Jonathan Cohen, Antoine Tamestit and the Quatuor Ebène. Nicolas
Altstaedt is Guest Artist of the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society New York.
His recording of the Schumann cello concerto (with Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie
Rheinland-Pfalz) and the two Haydn concertos (with Potsdamer Kammerakademie) as
well as the newest CD with works works of R. Schumann and W. Killmayer (with José
Gallardo, piano) were presented with overwhelming success. In 2013 his recordings of JS
Bach Sonatas for Viola da Gamba and harpsichrod (with Jonathan Cohen) will be
released.
Nicolas Altstaedt plays on a Giulio Cesare Gigli cello made in 1789 generously loaned
by Tarisio and a cello by Robert König (2012).