Nacido en 1982 en el seno de una familia de ascendencia francesa y alemana, fue uno de los últimos alumnos de Boris Pergamenschikov en Berlín, donde prosiguió sus estudios con Eberhard Feltz. Posteriormente ha recibido una fuerte influencia de músicos como Mstislav Rostropovich, Tabea Zimmermann, Heinrich Schiff, Miklós Perényi, Steven Isserlis y Anner Bylsma.
Después de salir triunfador en diversos concursos internacionales, en 2009 obtuvo una beca de la Fundación Borletti Buitoni y el año siguiente recibió el prestigioso Premio Credit Suisse Young Artist Award, que le permitió debutar con la Orquesta Filarmónica de Viena dirigida por Gustavo Dudamel en el Festival de Lucerna. En las últimas temporadas ha tocado con la Orquesta de la Tonhalle de Zúrich y Neville Marriner, la Orquesta Sinfónica de la Radio de Stuttgart y Roger Norrington, la Philharmonie Austrohúngara Haydn y Adam Fischer, el Musikkollegium Winterthur y Mario Venzago, la Orquesta de Cámara de Stuttgart y Dennis Russell Davies, así como con la Sinfónica de Bamberg, las Orquestas Sinfónicas de Melbourne y Adelaida, la Orquesta de Cámara de Zúrich, la Orquesta Sinfónica de la Radio Danesa, la Tapiola Sinfonietta y la Orquesta Juvenil Simón Bolívar. En 2010 fue elegido como uno de los integrantes del programa New Generation Artists de la BBC.
Nicolas Altstaedt ha sido nombrado nuevo Director Artístico del Festival de Lockenhaus, a propuesta de Gidon Kremer. Se estrenará en su cargo el próximo mes de julio.
En el ámbito de la música de cámara toca habitualmente con Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet, Daniel Hope, Alina Ibragimova, Kirill Gerstein, Pekka Kuusisto, Barnabás Kelemen, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Alexander Lonquich, Carolin Widmann, Jörg Widmann, el Cuarteto Ebène, el Ensemble Scharoun de la Filarmónica de Berlín y la intérprete de bajan Elsbeth Moser. Siente una especial afinidad hacia la música contemporánea y ha trabajado con compositores como György Kurtág, Moritz Eggert, Franghiz Ali-Sade, Sofia Gubaidulina, Lera Auerbach, HK Gruber y Wilhelm Killmayer. Sus conciertos le han llevado a tocar en escenarios tan prestigiosos como el Centro de las Artes de Seúl, el Festival de las Artes de Hong Kong, la Philharmonie de Berlín, la Philharmonie de Colonia, el Carnegie Hall de Nueva York, la Tonhalle de Zúrich, la Konzerthaus de Berlín, el Théatre du Châtelet de París, la Sala Hércules de Múnich, el Mozarteum de Salzburgo y la Konzerthaus de Viena, entre otras. También es invitado habitual de festivales internacionales como Lockenhaus, Salzburgo, Jerusalén, Rheingau, Schleswig-Holstein, Ludwigsburg, Kronberg y la Beethovenfest de Bonn.
Publicó su primer disco en el sello Genuin en 2007. Posteriormente grabó para el sello Claves obras concertantes de Schumann, Tchaikovsky y Friedrich Gulda, y los Conciertos de Haydn con la Postdamer Kammerakademie dirigida por Michael Sanderling (de nuevo para Genuin). Su última grabación contiene obras camerísticas de Robert Schumann y Wilhelm Killmayer.
Nicolas Altstaedt toca un violonchelo construido por Nicolas Lupot en París en 1821, prestado por la Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben.
"Already now he possesses a brilliant technique, beautiful sound, outstanding feeling of form, excellent phrasing. His play was masterly. Without exaggeration one can say that we are dealing with a highly gifted musician, with a unique personality." Sofia Gubaidulina.
"Altstaedt is already much more than promising" The Strad
Nicolas Altstaedt belongs to the most exciting and successful young artists of his generation. Born in 1982 into a family of German and French descent, Nicolas Altstaedt was one of Boris Pergamenschikow's last students in Berlin, where he has continued his studies with Eberhard Feltz. Furthermore he has been influenced by Mstislav Rostropovich, Tabea Zimmermann, Heinrich Schiff, Miklós Perényi, Steven Isserlis and Anner Bylsma.
Nicolas Altstaedt received several international awards: In July 2006 the first prize at the Adam International Cello Competition in New Zealand, which included a tour with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. The "Landgraf von Hessen Preis" of the Kronberg Academy 2004, First Prizes at the German Music Competition 2005, at the International Domnick Cello Competition in Stuttgart 2005 and the First Prize in the International Paulo Cello Competition 2007. 2008 he received the Marguerite-Duetschler Award of the festival "Sommets Musicaux" in Gstaad (selected by Mischa Maisky). 2009 he was awarded with the Borletti Buitoni Trust Fellowship.
Early 2010 Nicolas Altstaedt was honoured with one of the most prestigious European awards, the “Credit Suisse Young Artist Award 2010”. As part of this award, mid September 2010 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.
Last seasons’ highlights were concerts with the Tonhalle Orchestra under the baton of Sir Neville Marriner, with the Radio Symphony Orchestra in Stuttgart under the baton of Sir Roger Norrington, the Austrian-Hungarian Haydn Philharmonie under Adam Fischer, the Musikkollegium Winterthur under Mario Venzago, the Stuttgart Chamber orchestra under Dennis Russel Davies, as well as with Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, the Melbourne- and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Tapiola Sinfonietta and the Simon Bolivar Orchestra.
As chamber musician he is currently playing with Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet, Daniel Hope, Alina Ibragimova, Kirill Gerstein, Pekka Kuusisto, Barnabás Kelemen, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Alexander Lonquich, Carolin Widmann, Jörg Widmann, the Quatuor Ebène, the Scharoun Ensemble of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the bajan player Elsbeth Moser, to name a few. He feels a deep commitment to contemporary composers, and works together with György Kurtág, Moritz Eggert, Franghiz Ali-Sade, Sofia Gubaidulina, Lera Auerbach, HK Gruber and Wilhelm Killmayer.
He has been performing all over the world including the Seoul Arts Center and Sejong Center in Seoul, Hong Kong Arts Festival, Suntory Hall Tokio, the Philharmonies in Berlin and Cologne and Carnegie Hall New York, Tonhalle Zurich, the Philharmonies Berlin and Cologne, the Berlin Konzerthaus, Châtelet Paris, Herkules Hall Munich, the Mozarteum Salzburg, the Konzerthaus Vienna and others.
He is regularly invited to prestigious international festivals such as Lockenhaus, Salzburg Festival, the Mozart Festival Salzburg, Jerusalem, Rheingau, Schleswig-Holstein Musikfestival, Festival Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, les muséiques in Basel, Beethovenfestival Bonn, the Ludwigsburger Schloßfestspiele and the Cellofestival Kronberg.
His debut CD was released on the GENUIN label 2007 and was chosen by the Strad magazine as the selection of the month for December of 2007. 2009 two CDs were released and hailed by the international medias – one with R.Schumann’s cello concerto, Tschaikowsky’s Rococo Variations and F. Gulda’s cello concerto (Claves), the second with the two Haydn concertos with the Potsdamer Kammerakademie under Michael Sanderling (GENUIN). His newest CD, dedicated to chamber music works of R. Schumann and W. Killmayer was recently presented with overwhelming success.
Nicolas Altstaedt is one of the few European artists being a member of the Lincoln Center Chamber music society 2 for the seasons 2009–2012.
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 with all BBC orchestras, as well as invitations to the UK’s most prestigious festivals and concert halls for the next two seasons.
Nicolas Altstaedt plays a violoncello by Nicolas Lupot (Paris 1821) loaned to him by the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben.
He looks forward to a new invitation to the Salzburg Festival and to the Salzburg Mozart Festival, to concerts as soloist in New Zealand, Japan and the whole of Europe.
CONCIERTOS
- Hamburg Abendblatt. Von Verena Fischer-Zernin (Debut NDR con el Concierto de Dutilleux). Abril 2016
- New York Times. Anthoy Tommasini (recital con Alexander Lonquich). Febrero 2016
- Herald. Auckland. William Dart (Orquesta de Auckland - Dutilleux). Abril 2015
ÁLBUMES
SHOSTAKOVICH
- SpiegelOnline. Von Werner Theurich
- The Guardian. Erica Jeal
- CLASSICAL
Carl Philippe Emmanuel BACH
“El violonchelista Nicolas Altstaedt nos trae una refrescante visión de tres conciertos maravillosamente originales de CPhE Bach, que interpreta junto a Arcangelo y su director Jonathan Cohen. Esta grabación capta todo el chispeante humor del diálogo entre orquesta y solista”.BBC Music Magazine.-Disco del mes
Carl Philippe Emmanuel Bach
Cello concertos
Shostakovich / Weinberg
Cello concertos
György Ligeti
Cello concerto. Nicolas Altstaedt, violoncello. PluralEnsemble. Fabián Panisello, conductor.
Olivier Messiaen
Quartett für das Ende der Zeit
Wilhelm Killmayer & Robert Schumann
Works for Cello & Piano CD
Joseph Haydn
Konzerte für Violoncello und Orchester Nr. 1 & 2
Vuelta Al Mundo
Altstaedt / Moser / Piazzolla / Villa-Lobos
I beling this road I know
Lalo, Sarasate and Joseph Haydn
Sinfonia Concertante Hob. I/105
Johann Sebastian Bach
Sonatas for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord BWV 1027–1029
Sofia Gubaidulina
Canticle of the Sun
French Cello Sonatas CD
Nicolas Altstaedt
Schumann, Tchaïkovsky & Gulda
Nicolas Altstaedt
Sonata for cello & piano No. 4 in C major, Op. 102/1
Schumann: Cello Concerto - Nicolas Altstaedt - Live concert HD
Nicolas Altstaedt & José Gallardo - Trois Pièces - Boulanger
Nicolas Altstaedt - Bach/ Cello Suite nr. 1 in G – Sarabande (live @Bimhuis Amsterdam)
Nicolas Altstaedt - Henri Dutilleux/ Trois Strophes sur le nom de Sacher (live @Bimhuis Amsterdam)
Schumann Cello concerto Nicolas Altstaedt
Lutoslawski Cello Concerto Nicolas Altstaedt