Valentin Radutiu

cello

Acclaimed cellist Valentin Radutiu has been praised by the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper as “one of the great cello talents of our time.” He began his musical journey at the age of six when he started learning the cello from his father, a cellist with the Munich Radio Orchestra who had fled communist Romania. His accolades include victories at national and international competitions such as the International Karl Davidov Competition in Riga, Latvia, and the Music Prize of German Business, one of Germany’s most prestigious awards for emerging musicians. In 2011, he won second prize at the International Enescu Competition in Bucharest, Romania.

Mr. Radutiu has served as the principal cellist of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin since 2019 and has extensive experience as a concerto soloist, having performed with renowned orchestras such as the Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, Jerusalem Symphony, National Romanian Symphony, and Bucharest Radio Orchestra. Additionally, he has served as a guest principal cellist with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Munich Radio Orchestra while also taking on the role of guest section cellist with the Berlin Philharmonic.

Since 2021, Mr. Radutiu has been a professor of cello at the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber in Dresden, Germany. In September of 2025, he will assume Desmond Hoebig’s position as professor of cello at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music as Mr. Hoebig retires. He studied at the Mozarteum University Salzburg, the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, and the School of Music Hanns Eisler Berlin. He has said that his teachers, Clemens Hagen, Heinrich Schiff, and David Geringas, have shaped not only his musical abilities but also his philosophy on education.