A consummate artist from a young age, cellist Nicolas Altstaedt rose to international fame following his 2010 professional debut playing the Schumann concerto at the Lucerne Festival with star conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the Vienna Philharmonic. Born in Heidelberg in 1982 to Franco-German parents, Altstaedt studied with Boris Pergamenschikow—one of his greatest influences—at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music, Berlin. While Altstaedt has been praised for his articulate and expressive performances of Haydn, Robert Schumann and Tchaikovsky, his interest in the growing repertoire of the 21st century has yielded collaborations with the notable contemporary composers Wolfgang Rihm, Thomas Adès, Jörg Widmann, Matthias Pintscher and Sofia Gubaidulina. Altstaedt was the soloist for the Finnish premiere of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s 2017 cello concerto, conducted by the composer. Besides mastering the cello, Altstaedt is also an accomplished conductor and artistic director; a highlight of his custodianship of the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival is an outstanding 2021 album of music by Kodály and Dvořák.