Denis Matsuev (piano)

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).