The opening concert
of Concert complex "the Philharmonia-2".
Denis Matsuev

Since his triumph in the 1998 at the 11th International Tchaikovsky Competition, Denis Matsuev has become a virtuoso in the grandest of Russian pianistic tradition and has quickly established himself as one of the most prominent pianists of his generation.

Mr. Matsuev performs with the world's best known orchestras, such as the New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia, Pittsburg Symphony, Berlin Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony, Staatskapelle Dresden, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra,  BBC Symphony, Philharmonia, Montreal Symphony, Filarmonica della Scala, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Vienna Symphony, Israel Philharmonic and Rotterdam Philharmonic, Oslo Philharmonic, National Orchestra of Belgium, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Verbier and Budapest Festival Orchestras, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, NHK Symphony, as well as the European Chamber Orchestra. He is continually re-engaged with the legendary Russian orchestras such as the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Mariinsky Orchestra and the Russian National Orchestra.

Denis performs recitals at Carnegie Hall, Chicago Symphony Center, Maison symphonique de Montréal, Koerner Hall in Toronto, Victoria Hall in Geneva, Vienna Konzerthaus and Musikverein, Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid, G. Verdi Conservatory in Turin, Tonhalle in Zurich, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Gasteig in Munich, Accademia Filarmonica Romana in Rome, Conservatorio di Musica Giuseppe Verdi in Milan and Flagey in Brussels.

Denis Matsuev regularly appears with the most distinguished conductors on a stage today, including Valery Gergiev, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Chailly, Christian Thielemann, Paavo Jarvi, Antonio Pappano, Charles Dutoit, Alain Gilbert, Leonard Slatkin, Myung-Whun Chung, Semyon Bychkov, Iván Fischer, Adam Fisher, Gianandrea Noseda, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Manfred Honeck, James Conlon, Vladimir Spivakov, Mikhail Pletnev, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Yury Bashmet, Alexander Sladkovsky, Kristian Jarvi and others.

Mr. Matsuev is a frequent guest of world famous music festivals such as Verbier Festival and Lucerne Music Festival in Switzerland, BBC Proms and Edinburgh International Festival in Great Britain, Schleswig-Holstein, Rheingau, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden in Germany, Les Chorégies d’Orange and Festival de la Rogue d’Anthéron in France, Ravinia and the Hollywood Bowl in the U.S., Chopin Festival in Poland, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and Mito Festival in Italy, Montreux Festival in Switzerland, Enescu Festival in Romania, Baltic Sea Festival in Sweden and Stars of the White Nights Festival in Russia.

In 2010, in Avery Fisher Hall, the New York Philharmonic gave the orchestra’s 15,000th concert – a number unmatched by any other orchestra. Denis Matsuev was a leading soloist in this unprecedented milestone concert, which was conducted by Maestro Valery Gergiev, and was praised highly by music critics.

For many years Denis Matsuev has led numerous musical festivals and educational projects which have added to his role as a prominent public figure. Since 2004 he has organized Stars on Baikal in Irkutsk, Siberia (in 2009 he was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of Irkutsk), and since 2005 he has been the artistic director of the Crescendo music festival (a series of events held in international cities such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Tel Aviv, Kaliningrad, Paris and New York). In 2010 he became the artistic director of Annecy Music Festival in Annecy, France, with the goal to bring together Russian and French music cultures.

In 2012 Denis Matsuev became the artistic director of I International Astana Piano Passion Festival and Competition as well as the artistic director of International Festival and Competition Sberbank DEBUT in Kiev in 2013. In 2016 Denis Matsuev as the artistic director of the Competition and chairman of the Organizing Committee started a new competition for young pianists in Moscow – Grand Piano Competition. Next editions took place in 2018 and 2021. Additionally, Mr. Matsuev is the president of the charitable New Names foundation that discovers and supports talented children and helps to develop music education in regions of his native Russia. More than 10000 children received monetary grants and/or opportunity to perform at the professional stage.

In 2007, RCA Red Seal released “Unknown Rachmaninoff” featuring Mr. Matsuev. His Carnegie Hall recital in November 2007 was released in 2009 as “Denis Matsuev – Concert at Carnegie Hall.” Mariinsky Label releases include Rachmaninoff Concertos No. 2, No. 3, Prokofiev Concertos No. 3, No. 5, Shostakovich Concertos No. 1, No. 2 and Shchedrin Fifth, performed by Denis Matsuev and Mariinsky Theatre orchestra under the baton of Valery Gergiev. In April 2013 Denis Matsuev presented the record (RCA Red Seal) with Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 and Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin, accompanied by the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Alan Gilbert. In September 2013 the label LSO Live released a disc with Denis Matsuev and LSO under the baton of Valery Gergiev performing Symphonia Concertante by Szymanowski. Gramophone has chosen Denis Matsuev’s recording of Tchaikovsky Concerti Nos. 1 & 2 as their recording of the month in April 2014.

For many years Denis Matsuev has collaborated with the Sergei Rachmaninoff Foundation, established by Alexander Rachmaninoff, the grandson of the composer. Mr. Matsuev was chosen by the Foundation to perform and record Rachmaninoff’s unknown pieces on the composer's own piano at the Rachmaninoff house Villa Senar in Lucerne. Later, he became the artistic director of the Foundation.

In 2021 Denis Matsuev became the artistic director of renewed Rachmaninoff Competition in Moscow with three nominations: pianist, composer and conductor.

Denis Matsuev is a laureate of prestigious Shostakovich Prize in Music as well as the State Prize of Russian Federation in Literature and Arts. He also is a People’s Artist of Russia. Denis Matsuev was named Honorary Professor of the Moscow State University. He is a member of The Presidential Council for Culture and Arts, Honored Artist of Russia and was the head of The Public Council under The Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.

In February 2014 Denis Matsuev was awarded the honour of performing at the official Closing Ceremony of the XXII Winter Olympic games in Sochi and at the same year UNESCO designated Denis Matsuev as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. In 2016 Denis Matsuev was announced as 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia ambassador. Denis Matsuev was awarded with State Order of Honour. And in 2017 he received Government of Russia Prize in the sphere of Culture for his International Stars on Baikal Music Festival in Irkutsk.

As the Ambassador of FIFA World Cup Russia Denis organized the unique concert with participation of Valery Gergiev, Anna Netrebko, Placido Domingo and other stars of classical music at the Red Square in Moscow on 13th of June 2018. In 2019 Denis Matsuev was awarded with Lev Nikolaev gold medal for his significant contribution to education and popularization of science and culture. In 2021 ICMA awarded Denis Matsuev with the prize for Video Performance of the Rachmaninoff Third concert with Riccardo Chailly and Lucerne Festival Orchestra.

Denis Matsuev was the jury Chairman for the International Tchaikovsky Competition in the piano category (2019, 2023).

Throughout its history, the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra has ranked among the best national orchestras and has been a worthy representative of Russian musical culture abroad. 

The orchestra was founded in September 1951 under the Soviet Radio Committee and joined the Moscow Philharmonic Society in 1953. Its artistic image and performing style were built under the guidance of renowned Russian conductors. The ensemble's first Artistic Director and Principal Conductor was Samuil Samosud (1951–1957). In 1957–1959, the orchestra, led by Nathan Rachlin, was considered as one of the best in the USSR. In 1958, at the 1st International Tchaikovsky Competition, the orchestra, conducted by Kirill Kondrashin, accompanied a triumphant performance by Van Cliburn, and in 1960 it was the first Russian symphony orchestra to tour the USA.

Kirill Kondrashin led the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra for 16 years (1960–1976). Those years were important milestones in the ensemble's history: the maestro conducted the premieres of Shostakovich's 4th and 13th Symphonies, his poem The Execution of Stepan Razin, Prokofiev's Cantata for the 20th Anniversary of the October Revolution, performed and recorded many Mahler symphonies. In 1973 the orchestra was awarded the title of Academic. Under Dmitry Kitaenko (1976–1990) the orchestra extended its 20th century repertoire, premiering works by Khrennikov, Denisov, Schnittke, Butsko, and Tishchenko. Messiaen's Turangalîla-Symphonie, Stravinsky's King of the Stars (Zvezdoliki) and Requiem Canticles were performed for the first time in the USSR. The ensemble was subsequently led by Vasily Sinaisky (1991–1996) and Mark Ermler (1996–1998). 

The orchestra has collaborated with leading Russian and international conductors including André Cluytens, Igor Markevitch, Charles Munch, Zubin Mehta, George Enescu, Neeme Järvi, Mariss Jansons, Dzhansug Kakhidze, Kurt Mazur, Evgeny Svetlanov and composers Benjamin Britten, Igor Stravinsky, and Krzysztof Penderecki. It is with this orchestra that Sviatoslav Richter made his sole appearance as a conductor. Virtually all major soloists of the second half of the 20th century have appeared with the orchestra, including Isaac Stern, Yehudi Menuhin, Glenn Gould, Emil Gilels, David Oistrakh, Leonid Kogan, Daniil Shafran, Yakov Flier, Nikolai Petrov, Mstislav Rostropovich, Vladimir Krainev, Maurizio Pollini, Eliso Virsaladze, and Natalia Gutman. The orchestra has recorded over 350 LPs and CDs, many of which have received the highest international recording awards and are still in demand today. 

A new stage in the history of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra began in 1998, when it was taken over by People's Artist of the USSR Yuri Simonov. Under his leadership, the ensemble has achieved tremendous success. Today the orchestra is one of the mainstays of Russian philharmonic life, frequently performing in cities across Russia (over the last ten years they have appeared in more than 40 cities) and successfully touring Great Britain, Germany, Spain, Japan, Hong Kong, China, and Korea. 

In recent decades, the orchestra has played with such outstanding musicians as: Marc-André Hamelin, Valery Afanassiev, Yuri Bashmet, Boris Berezovsky, Yuja Wang, Maxim Vengerov, Stefan Vladar, Hibla Gerzmava, David Geringas, Barry Douglas, Lilya Zilberstein, Sumi Jo, Laura Kleikomb, Alexander Kniazev, Sergey Krylov, John Lill, Nikolai Lugansky, Konstantin Lifshitz, Oleg Maisenberg, Denis Matsuev, Ekaterina Mechetina, Viktoria Mullova, Daniel Pollak, Vadim Repin, Sergey Roldugin, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Viktor Tretyakov; Conductors Luciano Acocella, Semyon Bychkov, Alexander Vedernikov, Michael Güttler, Alexander Dmitriev, Marco Zambelli, Thomas Sanderling, Alexander Lazarev, Andres Mustonen, Vasily Petrenko, Benjamin Pionnier, 

Gintaras Rinkevičius, Alexander Sladkovsky, Leonard Slatkin, Saulius Sondeckis, Antonino Fogliani, Mariss Jansons and many others. 

One of the orchestra's priorities is working with the new generation of musicians: as part of the Stars of the 21st Century series, the orchestra plays with gifted soloists entering the big stage and invites young performers to join its philharmonic subscription programmes. The orchestra is a regular participant of international and Russian master courses for young conductors by Yuri Simonov, organized by the Moscow Philharmonic society. 

The activities of Maestro Simonov and the orchestra also aim at educating young listeners. The subscription series Tales with an Orchestra, taking place in Moscow and many Russian cities and featuring theatre and film stars, has become hugely popular. Guest stars have included Marina Alexandrova, Maria Aronova, Alyona Babenko, Valery Barinov, Sergei Bezrukov, Anna Bolshova, Olga Budina, Valery Garkalin, Sergei Garmash, Nonna Grishaeva, Ekaterina Guseva, Evgenia Dobrovolskaya, Mikhail Yefremov, Evgeny Knyazev, Avangard Leontiev, Pavel Lyubimtsev, Dmitry Nazarov, Alexander Oleshko, Irina Pegova, Yulia Peresild, Mikhail Porechenkov, Evgeniya Simonova, Grigory Siyatvinda, Daniil Spivakovsky, Yuri Stoyanov, Evgeny Stychkin, Victoria Tolstoganova, Mikhail Trukhin, Gennady Khazanov, Chulpan Khamatova, Sergey Shakurov. This project brought Maestro Simonov the Moscow Mayor's Arts Award in 2008, while in 2010, Yuri Simonov and the orchestra received the National Newspaper Musical Review Award in the Conductor and Orchestra category. 

In recent years, the ensemble has presented several Moscow, Russian and world premieres of works by Andrei Eshpai, Boris Tishchenko, Krzysztof Penderecki, Philip Glass, Alexander Tchaikovsky, Sergei Slonimsky, Valentin Silvestrov, Eduard Artemyev, Gennady Gladkov, Sofia Gubaidulina, Alexei Rybnikov, Efrem Podgaits, Kuzma Bodrov and other composers.

Dimitris Botinis was born in Moscow into the family of the famous Greek conductor Dimitris Botinis Senior, who gave the his son his first conducting lessons. He graduated from the Municipal Conservatoire in Patras as a violinist. He studied conducting under Professor Yuri Simonov at his master courses in Hungary and subsequently at the St. Petersburg Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory, from which he graduated with distinction in 2011.

Dimitris was a winner of the Antonio Pedrotti International Conducting Competition (Italy, 2006), where he was collected all the special prizes, and of the first Russian Competition of Opera and Symphony Conducting (Moscow, 2011).

Since March 2021, he has been a conductor with the Moscow Philharmonic that previously employed him as an assistant to Yuri Simonov (then Artistic Director and Chief Conductor). Since 2015, he has also been Chief Conductor of the V. I. Safonov Academic Symphony Orchestra of the North Caucasus Philharmonic Society, where, besides symphonic programmes, he has also been involved in concert performances of operas. Since 2022, he has also been Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra.

Mr. Botinis collaborates with leading Russian ensembles including Svetlanov Symphony Orchestra, Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia, Russian National Orchestra, Novaya RossiyaState Symphony Orchestra, Academic Symphony Orchestra of the St Petersburg Philharmonic, Ural Academic Philharmonic Orchestra, State Symphony Orchestra of Tatarstan, State Philharmonic Orchestra of the Russian Federation, and Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra.

In 2012, he made his debut with the Mariinsky Orchestra and began collaborating with the St Petersburg House of Music. He took part in Musical Olympus Festival in 2011-2016.

In November 2014, he conducted the first (“test”) symphony concert at the Rachmaninoff Concert Hall (Philharmonia-2), while in January 2017 he conducted the orchestra at the hall’s official grand opening, performing Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Piano Concerto with Denis Matsuev at the piano.

Dimitris has toured to Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, Estonia, South Korea and Cyprus. In 2017, he recorded works by Russian composers with the Bamberger Symphoniker.

Highlights of his career include appearances with renowned orchestras of Greece, such as National Symphony Orchestra of Radio and Television and State Symphony Orchestras of Athens and Thessaloniki. He participated at the International Festival of Patras in 2010 and 2011, made his debut at the Athens Concert Hall in 2013, and appeared at the National Opera and Ballet Theatre of Greece in 2019.

In autumn 2018, he became the first conductor to stand at the console of the Russian National Youth Symphony Orchestra, with which he gave several concerts in Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod and cities in Siberia. In September 2019, he performed at the Stars on Baikal Festival in Irkutsk. The 2021/22 season sees his debut with the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse (France).

In 2021, he was awarded the Presidential Prize for Young Culture Professionals of the Russian Federation for his contribution to the establishment of traditions in the Russian musical art and education.