克里斯蒂安·波特拉出生於蘇黎世。起先師從南希·查馬琴科（Nancy Chumachenco）與帕戈門齊科夫（Boris Pergamenschikow），之後在薩爾茲堡和維也納隨Heinrich Schiff學習。

作為獨奏家，他曾與眾多樂團合作，包含慕尼黑愛樂管弦樂團、萊比錫布商大廈管弦樂團、洛杉磯愛樂管弦樂團、奧斯陸愛樂管弦樂團、聖西西里亞管弦樂團、巴黎管弦樂團、BBC交響樂團、革命與浪漫管弦樂團、歐洲室內樂團；曾合作過的指揮，如海汀克（Bernard Haitink）、夏伊（Riccardo Chailly）、杜南伊（Christoph von Dohnanyi）、尼爾森斯（Andris Nelsons）與賈第納（Sir John Eliot Gardiner）等。同時，他也與基頓·克萊曼（Gidon Kremer）、特茲拉夫（Christian Tetzlaff）、安涅斯（Leif Ove Andsnes）、內田光子、沃格特（Lars Vogt）、凱瑟琳·史托特（Kathryn Stott）、埃斯特·霍普（Esther Hoppe）、羅納德·布勞提甘（Ronald Brautigam），以及Auryn四重奏、齊赫梅爾四重奏與哈根四重奏等合作，致力推展室內樂。此外，他還與齊瑪曼（Frank Peter Zimmermann）、安東尼·塔梅斯提（Antoine Tamestit）合組「齊瑪曼三重奏」，在歐洲各地最負盛名的音樂廳與音樂節演出。

2004年，他榮獲BB信託獎（Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award），並獲選為「BBC新世代藝術家」。

他是薩爾茲堡、琉森、柏林、愛丁堡和維也納等著名音樂節的常客，並在2007年首度於BBC逍遙音樂節亮相。克里斯蒂安·波特拉所錄製的唱片贏得國際媒體讚譽，多樣化的曲目包含德弗札克、杜提耶、盧托斯瓦夫斯基、華爾頓、亨德密特與巴伯的協奏曲，以及普羅科菲夫、佛瑞、貝多芬和舒伯特的室內樂作品。

克里斯蒂安·波特拉現任教於瑞士琉森大學，他的演奏琴為1675年卡西尼製大提琴與1711年製 "Mara" 史特拉底瓦里名琴。

Christian Poltéra was born in Zürich. After receiving tuition from Nancy Chumachenco and Boris Pergamenschikow, he studied with Heinrich Schiff in Salzburg and Vienna.

As a soloist he works with eminent orchestras including the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Orchestre de Paris, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique and Chamber Orchestra of Europe under such conductors as Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Chailly, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Andris Nelsons and Sir John Eliot Gardiner.

He also devotes himself intensively to chamber music together with such musicians as Gidon Kremer, Christian Tetzlaff, Leif Ove Andsnes, Mitsuko Uchida, Lars Vogt, Kathryn Stott, Esther Hoppe and Ronald Brautigam, and with the Auryn, Zehetmair and Hagen Quartets. Together with Frank Peter Zimmermann and Antoine Tamestit, Christian Poltéra has formed a string trio, the Trio Zimmermann, which performs at most prestigious concert venues and festivals all over Europe.

In 2004 he received the Borletti-Buitoni Award and was selected as a BBC New Generation Artist.

He is a regular guest at renowned festivals (such as Salzburg, Lucerne, Berlin, Edinburgh and Vienna) and made his BBC Proms début in 2007. Christian Poltéra's discography, which has won acclaim from the international press, reflects his varied repertoire that includes the concertos by Dvorak, Dutilleux, Lutoslawski, Walton, Hindemith and Barber as well as chamber music by Prokofiev, Brahms, Beethoven and Schubert.

Christian Poltéra teaches at the Lucerne University. He plays a Antonio Casini cello built in 1675 and the famous "Mara" Stradivari from 1711.