German–French cellist Nicolas Altstaedt is renowned for his creativity and versatility, in his captivating performances on both modern and gut strings. Awarded the Credit Suisse Young Artist Award in 2010, he performed the Schumann concerto in a highly acclaimed debut with the Vienna Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel at the Lucerne Festival. He performs with orchestras including the Tonhalle- Orchester Zürich, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, OPRF Paris, Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra and all the BBC orchestras, working with conductors including Sir Roger Norrington, Sir Neville Marriner, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Giovanni Antonini and Andrea Marcon.

In 2012 Nicolas was invited by Gidon Kremer to be Artistic Director of the Lockenhaus Festival, and in 2014 Adam Fischer asked him to follow in his footsteps as Artistic Director of the Haydn Philharmonie. In recital Nicolas performs solo and with partners including Fazil Say and Alexander Lonquich. As a chamber musician, he regularly plays with Janine Jansen, Vilde Frang, Pekka Kuusisto, Jonathan Cohen and the Quatuor Ébène, performing at festivals including Salzburg Mozart and Summer festivals, Verbier, BBC Proms, Lucerne, Gstaad and Musikfest Berlin. Nicolas also performs with composers Thomas Adès, Jörg Widmann, Matthias Pintscher, Bryce Dessner, Nico Muhly and Fazil Say.

Nicolas was a BBC New Generation Artist in 2010–2012 and a recipient of the ‘Borletti–Buitoni Trust Fellowship’ in 2009. He plays a violoncello by Giulio Cesare Gigli, Rome, from around 1760.