Valentin Radutiu

Praised by the Süddeutsche Zeitung for his “glowing, singing and distinctive sound” and as “one of the great cello-talents of our time” (Süddeutsche Zeitung), cellist Valentin Radutiu was born in Munich and received his first cello lessons from his father at the age of six. He later studied in Salzburg, Vienna and Berlin with Clemens Hagen, Heinrich Schiff and David Geringas.

Valentin Radutiu is distinguished by the breadth and versatility of his artistic activities: an extensive career as a soloist, a passionate commitment to chamber music alongside renowned musicians, and his tenure as principal cellist of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin from 2019 to 2025.

As a soloist he has performed with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Deutsche Radiophilharmonie Saarbrücken, the Symphony Orchestras of the MDR Leipzig and the SWR Stuttgart, Münchener Kammerorchester, Camerata Salzburg, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Bucharest’s Filarmonica Enescu and the Romanian National Radio Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Opéra de Marseille, the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn, Prague Philharmonia, Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, and the World Youth Symphony Orchestra and has appeared at the Berliner Philharmonie, Munich's Prinzregententheater, Philharmonie and Herkulessaal, the Konzerthaus Berlin, Philharmonic Hall Riga, Konserthuset Stockholm, Bucharest Atheneum, Palais des Beaux Arts Bruxelles, Wiener Konzerthaus, Hong Kong City Hall, and has partnered with conductors such as Alexandre Bloch, Lawrence Foster, Ruben Gazarian, Gustavo Gimeno, Pablo Gonzales, Stanislaw Kochanowski, Cristian Macelaru, Jérémie Rhorer, Leoš Svárovsky and Robin Ticciati. He has been heard at numerous festivals, including the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Enescu Festival, Heidelberger Frühling, Cellobiennale Amsterdam, Honk Kong Arts Festival, SoNoRo, Fürstensaal Classix, Klangspuren Tirol and the Orcas Island Music Festival.

His chamber music partners include the Hagen-Quartett, the Miró Quartet, Evgeni Bozhanov, Boris Brovtsyn, Jose Gallardo, Diana Ketler, Alissa Margulis, Mihaela Martin, Igor Ozim, Jon Kimura Parker, Alina Pogostkina, Razvan Popovici, Per Rundberg, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Rolando Villazón, the Schumann-Quartet and the 12 cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic.

Grateful to have studied with some of the foremost cellists of our time, Radutiu is also a dedicated and much sought-after pedagogue. In 2025, he was appointed Professor of Cello at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music. Previously, he served as professor of cello at the Hochschule für Musik “Carl Maria von Weber” Dresden. He has given masterclasses internationally, including at the International Summer Academy of the Mozarteum Salzburg, Yonsei University in Seoul, and Forum Musikae in Madrid. Forthcoming masterclasses in the United States will take him to the Aspen Music Festival, the International Cello Institute in Minnesota, and the Fredericksburg Music Festival, Texas.

Radutiu has released several CD recordings: In addition to the 2011 debut CD an album with French works by Lalo, Ravel and Magnard is available; the 2014 release of the complete works for cello and piano by George Enescu with Per Rundberg was praised by critics as a benchmark recording (Haenssler Classic). Radutiu’s intensive collaboration with the composer and conductor Peter Ruzicka is documented by his premier recording of Ruzicka's cello concerto and cello chamber music. In 2015, Radutiu’s album Remembering the Rain with jazz pianist Benjamin Schaefer was released, most recently a CD with the Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn and cello concertos by Haydn, Janson, and Christian Bach.

Radutiu plays a cello made by Francesco Ruggieri (Cremona, 1686).