Wang Jian began to study the cello with his father when he was four. While a student at the Shanghai Conservatoire, he was featured in the celebrated documentary film From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China. In 1981, at 12 years old, Jian made his professional debut playing the Saint-Saens cello concerto with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra at the Shanghai Music Hall. In 1985, with Mr Stern’s encouragement, he entered the Yale School of Music under a special programme where he studied with the renowned cellist Aldo Parisot.

As a soloist, Wang Jian has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw orchestra, New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland and Philadelphia orchestras, Chicago, Boston and Detroit Symphonies, London Symphony, the Halle, the BBC Orchestras, Zurich Tonhalle, Gothenburg Symphony, Stockholm Philharmonic, Santa Cecilia, La Scala, Mahler Chamber, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre de Paris, Czech Philharmonic, and NHK Symphony. These concerts have been with many of the greatest conductors, such as Abbado, Sawallisch, Jarvi, Chailly, Dutoit, Eschenbach, Chung, Gilbert and Gustavo Dudamel. Wang Jian also collaborates frequently with all the major Chinese Orchestras, including Shanghai Symphony, China Philharmonic, China NCPA orchestra, China National Orchestra, Guangzhou, Shenzhen Symphony Orchestras and Hangzhou Philharmonic. These concerts have been with one of his closest musical partners Long Yu, as well as Muhai Tang, Chen Zuo Huang, Lu Jia, Zhang Guo Yong, Yang Yang, Xu Zhong, Lin Da Ye, Jing Huan and Zhang Jie Ming. Wang Jian was appointed as the first ever Artist in Residence by the China National Center for Performing Arts, also by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. As a jury member, Wang Jian has judged many of the most important competitions, including the Tchaikovsky cello competition, the Queen Elizabeth cello competition, the Weiniawsky violin competition, the Isaac Stern violin competition and the Nielsen violin competition. Wang Jian now serves as the International Chair of the Cello for the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. He also serves as a member of Artistic Committee for the Shanghai Symphony and Hangzhou Philharmonic. Since 2022, Wang Jian is a cello professor at the Shanghai Conservatory.

Wang Jian has made many recordings. His latest release is the complete second recording of the Bach Cello Suites, while the first recording was made in 2005. He has also recorded a Baroque Album with the Camerata Salzburg, Brahms Double Concerto with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Claudio Abbado and Gil Shaham, the Haydn Concerti with the Gulbenkian Orchestra under Muhai Tang, Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time (with Myung-Whun Chung, Gil Shaham and Paul Meyer) and Brahms, Mozart and Schumann chamber music with Pires and Dumay, the Elgar Cello Concerto with the Sydney Symphony and Vladimir Ashkenazy, an album of short pieces for Cello and Guitar titled Reverie.

His instrument is graciously loaned to him by the family of the late Mr. Sau-Wing Lam.