Hailed by Strings magazine as “one of the most gifted cellists in the world”, Anja Lechner bridges the gap between traditional and contemporary music, arranged and improvised performances, playing as soloist with leading orchestras, as a chamber musician, and as creative force in diverse projects between the genres. Composers who have written music for her range from Arvo Pärt, Tigran Mansurian, Valentin Silvestrov, Tõnu Kõrvits, Golfam Khayam to Dino Saluzzi. Lechner studied with Heinrich Schiff and Janos Starker, embarking on a career that has taken her to the world’s most renowned stages with collaborations that include leading figures from both the world of classical music and the improvised scene. The broad scope of her musical interests is reflected in more than twenty albums for ECM Records, which include recordings with the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra under Tõnu Kaljuste, with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja and many more notable international figures.
Among her main collaborations, all documented with ECM, are her work with Argentinian bandoneon player Dino Saluzzi, with guitarist Pablo Márquez as well as with the Tarkovsky Quartet, whose pianist François Couturier is another frequent musical partner of hers. Lechner was a founding member of the Rosamunde String Quartet, with whom she worked for 18 years until the group’s dissolution in 2009. In season 2024/25, Anja Lechner is presenting her new cello solo album with music by Bach, Abel and Hume. She is touring with guitarist Pablo Márquez, playing music by Franz Schubert from their latest ECM album Die Nacht. With François Couturier she is touring with their acclaimed Lontano project and also presenting their new and third duo program. In spring 2025 she will be traveling through the main Europe metropoles as a member of the New Anouar Brahem Quartet.