Christian Poltéra was born in Zurich in 1977. He was a pupil of Nancy Chumachenco and Boris Pergamenschikow before studying with Heinrich Schiff in Salzburg and Vienna.
As a soloist he has now given concerts with numerous leading orchestras such as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zurich, the Vienna, Bamberg, and Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestras, the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra of the NDR (North German Radio), the SWR Radio Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden/ Freiburg, the Berlin, Basel and Lucerne Symphony Orchestras, the Oslo and Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestras, the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique Monte Carlo, the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Northern Sinfonia of England, the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI Torino, the Orquesta Nacional de España, and the Orchestra dell'Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome. He has thus worked with many distinguished conductors such as Vladimir Fedoseyev, Adam Fischer, Heinz Holliger, Heinrich Schiff, Leonard Slatkin, Mario Venzago, Marcello Viotti, Armin Jordan, and David Zinman.
His recent engagements included, amongst others, performances with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig under Riccardo Chailly; a tour with the SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden/ Freiburg (Lutoslawski cello concerto); a chamber music programme in Carnegie Hall and the Frank Martin cello concerto in Avery Fisher Hall. Chamber music projects have brought him together with Isabelle Faust, Leonidas Kavakos, Gidon Kremer, Janine Jansen, Julius Drake, Till Fellner, Lars Vogt, Leif Ove Andsnes, Christian Tetzlaff, Mitsuko Uchida, Kathryn Stott, Polina Leschenko and the Artemis, Auryn, Guarneri and Zehetmair String Quartets.
He is always a welcome guest at renowned festivals such as Salzburg, Berlin, Heimbach, Vienna, Lucerne, Zurich, Gstaad, Sion, Davos, Risør, Kuhmo, Lockenhaus and Perth and at the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg. In the UK, Christian has appeared in, amongst others, the Bath and the City of London Festivals. In 2006 he made his United States debut as the soloist with the American Symphony Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall, New York.
His recordings include cello concertos by Dvorak, Toch, Martin, Schoeck and Honegger as well as chamber music, on the BIS, EMI, Chandos, Naxos, Pan Classics, Avanti Classics and Tacet labels.
As a BBC New Generation Artist from 2004 to 2006, Christian worked regularly in the UK in studio and concert recordings, in chamber music and as soloist in orchestral concerts, both under the auspices of the BBC and independently. He has played with the City of London Sinfonia and Sian Edwards, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and has given chamber music concerts with artists including Frank Peter Zimmermann, Kathryn Stott, Martin Helmchen and Antoine Tamestit, in venues including Cadogan and Wigmore Halls, Glasgow City Hall and the Sage, Gateshead.
In 2004 he received a Borletti-Buitoni Award and for the 2006/2007 season, he is appointed, in duo with the pianist Polina Leschenko, a European Concert Halls Organisation "Rising Star". As such, they played in many of the major European concert halls and at Carnegie Hall, New York.
Recent UK engagements have included concerts at the Queen Elizabeth Hall and LSO St Luke's, in Aldeburgh, Perth and Birmingham, Sheffield (Music in the Round), Manchester (Cello Festival), at the Cambridge Festival and with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. In October 2007 he played the Dvorak cello concerto with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra at the closing night of the 2007 Prague Autumn Festival. Future UK engagements include the City of London Festival and chamber music with Mitsuko Uchida at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. He is currently playing with artists including Christian Tetzlaff, Kathryn Stott and Mitsuko Uchida and will undertake a concert tour in Europe with Frank Peter Zimmermann and Antoine Tamestit.
Visit Christian's own website here: www.christianpoltera.com
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Christian Poltéra
Photo: Marco Borggreve |
