Denis Matsuev

The Dusseldorf newspaper West Deutsche Zeitung wrote that: "Denis Matsuev possesses phenomenal talents. His playing gives one a basis for believing that a new star has appeared in the firmament of pianists."

Matsuev was born in 1975 and first appeared in the public eye in 1993, when he received the Grand Prix at the International Piano Competition held in South Africa. In 1998, as a Moscow Conservatory student studying under professor Dorensky, Matsuev was the prize winner of the Tchaikovsky Competition. Since that time, this young musician has carried out an intensive concert performance schedule. Matsuev has toured in many countries throughout the world and has appeared with leading symphony orchestras under the direction of conductors Svetlanov, Spivakov, Pletnev, Ehrmler and others.

Biography:

Born in 1975 into a family of musicians in Irkutsk, Siberia, Denis Matsuev began piano studies at the age of four and made his debut when he was nine. In 1991 he moved to Moscow to study and soon became a laureate of the International Charity Foundation "New Names" program. Through his association with the Foundation, he was afforded the opportunity to perform in more than 400 cities in Russia and 32 countries abroad.

A graduate of the Moscow Conservatory, Mr. Matsuev is a laureate of the International Piano Competition in Johannesburg, South Africa (1994 Grand Prix), laureate of the 1998 International Piano Competition in Paris, and first prize winner of the 1998 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, performing on a Yamaha CFIIIS. At the 1995-96 Andrew Lloyd Webber Festival in London, Mr. Matsuev was the first classical musician to give recitals performing jazz arrangements and improvising Webber's opera themes.

Mr. Matsuev has appeared with Russia's leading orchestras, including the State Academic Symphony Orchestra, Moscow Philharmonic and Russia's National Symphony. He also has performed with the Tokyo National Symphony Orchestra and the Bucharest National Symphony Orchestra. During 2000 he toured 10 U.S. cities with the Russian National Orchestra and 25 U.S. cities with the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra.

In 2000, Mr. Matsuev took part in Yamaha's World-Wide Centennial Concert Series with a recital held at Alice Tully Hall, performed on a Yamaha CFIIIS selected at Yamaha Artist Services.

In 2004 BMG Classics RCA (Red Seal) released Matsuev's debut CD "A Tribute to Horowitz", followed in January 2006 by a disc of Tchaikovsky "Seasons" and Stravinsky "Petrouchka," and in December 2006 by Tchaikovsky piano concerto No.1 and Shostakovich piano concerto No.1 with legendary St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra and Yuri Temirkanov. In December of 2007 BMG will release a disc on which Mr. Matsuev (chosen by Rachmaninoff Foundation to record unknown Rachmaninoff pieces) performs on the Rachmaninoff piano at the Rachmaninoff house "Villa Senar" in Lucerne. Mr. Matsuev is an exclusive BMG Classics artist and all his recordings are released worldwide.