Denis Matsuev – Rachmaninov International Youth Piano Competition

Denis Matsuev has established himself as one of the most outstanding pianists of his generation since his triumphant victory at the XI International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.

Matsuev’s performances in the most prestigious concert halls of the world have always enjoyed unwavering success. He regularly appears on stage with such world-famous orchestras as the Chicago, Pittsburgh, London Symphony Orchestras, New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras, Concertgebouw, Berlin, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig The Gewandhaus Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Honored Collective of Russia of the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Russian National Orchestra. He works with the most outstanding conductors of the world, including Valery Gergiev, Zubin Mehta, Yuri Temirkanov, Mariss Jansons, Christian Thielemann, Kurt Masur, Lorin Maazel, Kent Nagano, Riccardo Chailly, Antonio Pappano, Gianandrea Noseda, Mikhail Pletnev and many others.

Denis Matsuev has been a soloist of the Moscow Philharmonic since 1995. Since 2004, he has presented his annual personal subscription “Soloist Denis Matsuev”. The leading orchestras of Russia and abroad perform together with the pianist in the subscription, while maintaining the availability of concerts for subscription holders remains a characteristic feature of the cycle. The subscription concerts of the last seasons were attended by the Symphony Orchestra of Arturo Toscanini and Lorin Maazel, the Mariinsky Orchestra and Valery Gergiev, The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and Zubin Mehta, the Russian National Orchestra conducted by Mikhail Pletnev, Semyon Bychkov, Gianandrea Noseda, Paavo Järvi, as well as Vladimir Spivakov as soloist and conductor of the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia.

A landmark event of 2010 for the musician was the presentation of one of the most prestigious world music awards – the D. Shostakovich Prize. In accordance with the Decree of the President of Russia in June of the same year Denis Matsuev became a laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of literature and art, and in May 2011 the pianist was awarded the title of “People’s Artist of Russia”. Denis Matsuev is an Honorary Professor at Moscow State University and a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.
A special responsibility of the musician is the Interregional Charitable Foundation “New Names” named after Ivetta Voronova. Matsuev was a pupil of Ivetta Nikolayevna and he is managing the Foundation. Over its history, the Foundation has educated several generations of musicians and, under the leadership of Denis Matsuev and the founder of the foundation, Ivetta Voronova, continues to expand its educational activities in the field of supporting talented children. In particular, within the framework of the All-Russian program “New Names for the regions of Russia”, which takes place annually in more than 20 cities of Russia. Matsuev is also the director of the competitions for young pianists Grand Piano Competition in Moscow and Piano Passion in Astana.

In 2017, Denis was awarded the Order of Honor and received the Award of the Government of the Russian Federation for the international music festival “Stars on Baikal”. The pianist was the inspirer and organizer of the Gala concert with the participation of Valery Gergiev, Anna Netrebko, Placido Domingo and other stars of classical music on Red Square on June 13, 2018 in Moscow on the eve of the World Cup in Russia.

In 2019, the pianist was awarded the gold medal named after Lev Nikolaev for his significant contribution to education, popularization of scientific and cultural achievements. In the same year Denis Matsuev became the chairman of the jury in the piano nomination of the XVI Tchaikovsky Competition.

In 2021, for the first time in the history of ICMA, a Russian musician became a laureate in the nomination “Best Video Recording”. The prestigious award was awarded to the Rachmaninoff program performed by the world-famous pianist Denis Matsuev and the orchestra of the Lucerne Festival conducted by the Italian master Riccardo Chailly.

In 2022, the First Rachmaninoff International Competition of Pianists, Composers and Conductors was held under the supervision of Artistic Director Denis Matsuev.