German-French cellist Nicolas Altstaedt is one of the most sought-after and versatile artists today. As a soloist, conductor and artistic director, he performs a variety of repertoire spanning from early music to the contemporary.
In 2018/2019 he is the Artist in Residence at the NDR Elbphilharmonie, where he will perform with Christoph Eschenbach, Krzysztof Urbánksi and Hannu Lintu on tour. He also receives the Duisburg Music Prize 2018 and will become Artistic Director of the Pfingstfestspiele Ittingen 2019 and 2020. Other upcoming highlights include débuts with Orchestre National de France, Netherlands Philharmonic at Het Concertgebouw, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony at Suntory Hall, KBS Symphony Orchestra, Il Giardino Armonico at Grafenegg Festival, Les Violons du Roy, Residentie Orkest, re-invitations to the BBC Symphony on tour, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, DSO Berlin, Rotterdam Philharmonic, and a tour of major European venues with the SWR Orchestra and Teodor Currentzis. His recent highlights included concerto débuts with Detroit Symphony and Helsinki Philharmonic, as well as recital débuts at Carnegie Hall, Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, BOZAR Brussels and Koerner Hall in Toronto.
As a recipient of the Credit Suisse Young Artist Award in 2010, he gave a critically praised performance of the Schumann Concerto with the Vienna Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel at the Lucerne Festival. Since then, he has performed worldwide with orchestras such as Vienna Symphony, all BBC Orchestras, Czech Philharmonic, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne and New Zealand Symphony Orchestras with conductors including Neville Marriner, Andrew Davis, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Roger Norrington and Robin Ticciati, amongst others. During the 2017/2018 season, Altstaedt gave the highly acclaimed Finnish première of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Cello Concerto under the baton of the composer at the Helsinki Festival, and was named Artist in Spotlight at Amsterdam Concertgebouw.
In 2012, Altstaedt was chosen by Gidon Kremer to succeed him as the new Artistic Director of the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival, and in 2014 by Adam Fischer – whom he regularly performs with at the Konzerthaus in Vienna and Esterházy Festival – to become the new Artistic Director of the Haydn Philharmonie.
As a chamber musician, Altstaedt partners with Vilde Frang, Janine Jansen, Fazıl Say, Jonathan Cohen, Antoine Tamestit, Pekka Kuusisto and performs at festivals including the BBC Proms, Salzburg Festival, Quatuor Ébène at Mozart Week by Mozarteum Salzburg and Musikfest Bremen. He also performs new music and has worked with Jörg Widmann, Thomas Adès, Wolfgang Rihm, Thomas Larcher and Sofia Gubaidulina.
Altstaedt’s recording of CPE Bach Concertos on Hyperion with Arcangelo and Jonathan Cohen received the BBC Music Magazine Concerto Award 2017, while his latest recording Four Cities with Fazıl Say was released on Warner Classics to great acclaim and received the Edison Klassiek 2017.
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