Denis Matsuev

Chair
Denis Matsuev

Russia

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.

Zhaniya Aubakirova

Kazakhstan
People’s Artist of Kazakhstan

Born in 1957 in Alma-Ata. A graduate of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (the class of Professor L.Vlasenko). The Grand Prix winner at the Margaret Long and Jacques Thibaud International Competition (France, 1983) and the International Competition of Chamber Ensembles (France, 1985).

She performed at the finest venues of the world, including Salle Pleyel and Gaveau in Paris, the Barbican Hall and the Wigmore Hall in London, Carnegie Hall in New York, the Berlin Konzerthaus, the Arts Center in Seoul, the halls of the Berlin, St. Petersburg and Moscow Philharmonics etc.

Zhaniya Aubakirova collaborated with well-known groups and musicians such as Valery Gergiev, Mikhail Pletnev, Marta Argerich, David Geringas, Alexander Vedernikov, Alexander Sladkovsky, Dorian Wilson, Denis Shapovalov, Marat Bisengaliyev, the State Symphony Orchestra of Kazakhstan named after T. Abdrashev, the Symphony Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theater, the Russian National Orchestra, the French Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Rector of the Kazakh National Conservatory named after Kurmangazy (1997 – 2018). The initiator and organizer of a number of cultural and educational projects: the Author’s School of Zhania Aubakirova, the International Piano Competition in Almaty, the first classical music radio channel in Central Asia “Radio Classic”, the Musical Agency “Classic”, etc.

A Laureate of the State Prize, a holder of the Order “Barys” (I degree), Cavalier of the Order of Arts and Literature of France, the Order of Merit to the Culture of Poland, the “Golden Cross of Merit” (Poland), etc.

Viktor Eresko

Russia
Honored Artist of Russia

Born in 1942 in Kyiv. A graduate of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (the classes of Y. Flier, L. Vlasenko, L. Naumov).

A Laureate of the international competition named after Marguerite Long and Jacques Thibault in Paris (1963) and the Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow (1966).

He performed in the cities of the USSR, Europe, Japan, the USA with solo concerts in the best halls of the world, including the Salzburg Festival, the Concertgebouw, the Lincoln Center, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the Châtelet Theatre, the Salle Pleyel in Paris.

Collaborated with the leading orchestras of the world under the baton of famous conductors: K. Kondrashin, E. Svetlanov, G. Rozhdestvensky, V. Fedoseev, V. Gergiev, P. Berglund, K. Mazur and others.

The discography includes more than 40 CDs, among them all the piano concertos by P. Tchaikovsky and S. Rachmaninoff, the cycle of Transcendental Etudes by F. Liszt.

A special place in the work of the pianist is occupied by the music of Sergey Rachmaninoff. On the 100th anniversary of the composer he performed in Moscow (for the first time in the world) all of Rachmaninoff’s works for solo piano, including the transcriptions.

A Jury member of international competitions, including the ARD in Munich and the M. Long in Paris. Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Literature of France.

Frederick Kempf

UK/Germany

Born in 1977 in London. Studied at the Royal Academy of Music. Winning the BBC Young Musician of the Year (1992) brought the young musician the national fame and a debut at the Carnegie Hall.

Russian music has a special place in the pianist’s repertoire. A Laureate of the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition (III Prize, 1998). Participation in this contest made the musician very popular in Russia, where he regularly performs not only in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but also in many big and even small cities of the country: Yekaterinburg, Omsk, Voronezh, Novosibirsk, Tyumen, Perm, Kazan, Chelyabinsk, Barnaul, Samara, Izhevsk, Ryazan, Alapaevsk, Kamensk-Uralsky, Chernogolovka, etc. He participated in many Russian music festivals, including: the Platonov, the “Music Collection”, the “Alyabyevskaya Musical Autumn”, the “White lilac” in memory of Sergey Rachmaninoff, “Eurasia”.

Collaborated with such conductors as N. Järvi, S. Duthoit, V. Zawallish, R. Chaiy, V. Ashkenazy, V. Petrenko, E. Davis, J. Beloglavek, Yu. Temirkanov. He has performed with the London, Dresden, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestras, the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, the Buenos Aires Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tonhalle Orchestra, the La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra, the symphony orchestras of Gothenburg, San Francisco, Philadelphia, NHK, and others.

He played concerts at the best concert halls of Russia, Europe, USA, Republic of Korea, Japan, Singapore, New Zealand, Taiwan, including the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, the Berlin Konzerthaus, Concertgebouw, the Barbican Hall, the Sydney Opera House, the Suntory Hall and many others. Exclusive Artist of BIS Records.

Maxim Mogilevsky

Belgium

Born in Leningrad in 1968. A hereditary musician in the fourth generation. At the age of 13 he made his debut with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by D. Kitaenko. Graduated from the Moscow Conservatory (the class of Professor L. Naumov). In 1990 he trained at the Juilliard School with B. Davidovich, took lessons from M. Argerich.

A winner of the International Piano Competitions in Tokyo (1989), the UNISA in Pretoria (1992), Porto (1995). A winner of the Angel Awards at the Edinburgh Festival (1997), the Rachmaninoff Foundation Prize.

He regularly gives recitals in the best halls of Europe, Asia, Australia, the North and South America, at major festivals, including the Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center, the Segerstrom Arts Center, in Salzburg, Edinburgh, Ravinia. 

As a soloist he has performed with the Philharmonic Orchestras of New York, Seattle, Turku, Rotterdam, the National Orchestra of France, the Russian National Orchestra, the orchestras of the Mariinsky Theater and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the New Russia Orchestra, the State Symphony Orchestra named after E. Svetlanov, the Ensemble of Soloists of Moscow. Collaborates with such conductors as V. Gergiev, M. Pletnev, S. Ozawa, L. Segerstam, J. Schwartz, P. Jarvi, Y. Bashmet.

In addition to his performing career, Mogilevsky holds the position of a Distinguished Professor and Director of the Piano Program at Zhejiang Media University (Shanghai, China). As an executive artistic consultant of the Jiangsu Performing Arts Center in Nanjing, Maxim Mogilevsky was the organizer of performances by outstanding artists and ensembles, including Z.Meta, V.Gergiev, D.Matsuev, A.Netrebko, L.Kavakos, the Vienna, Munich, New York philharmonic orchestras, etc.

A laureate of the title “Best Foreign Expert” and President Xi Jingping’s “1000 Talents” Chinese Government Award.

Vladimir Ovchinnikov

Russia
People’s Artist of Russia

Born in 1958 in Bashkiria. Graduated from the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (the class of Prof. A. Nasedkin).

A Laureate of the International competition of pianists in Montreal (1980), the VII Tchaikovsky Competition (Moscow, 1982), the winner of the Leeds Piano Competition (Great Britain, 1987), after which he made his triumphant debut in London.

A soloist of the Moscow State Academic Philharmonic since 1995.

He performed in the cities of Russia, Europe and the USA with solo programs and with major orchestras, including: the Symphony Orchestra of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia, the  Royal Philharmonic, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Scottish Orchestra, the Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestras of Chicago, Montreal, Zurich, Tokyo, Hong Kong. He worked with such conductors as V. Gergiev, D. Conlon, G. Rozhdestvensky, E. Svetlanov, G. Solti, M. Jansons, N. Järvi, V. Fedoseev.

Participated in prestigious festivals, including the Edinburgh and Cheltenham Festivals, the BBC Proms (UK).

Currently is a professor at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory and the head of the piano department at the Russian Gnessins Music Academy. In 2011–2016 – Director of the Central School of Music. Since 2001 he has been a visiting professor at the Sakuyo University (Japan), since 2005 – a professor at the Faculty of Arts of the Moscow State University named after M. Lomonosov.

A Jury member of prestigious international competitions, including the competition named after Viana da Motta in Lisbon, the Busoni competition in Italy, the Paderewski competition in Poland; the “Grand Piano Competition” of young pianists, the Rachmaninoff competition of pianists, composers and conductors, the Tchaikovsky International Competition.

Valery Pyasetsky

Russia
Honored Artist of Russia

Born in 1961 in Moscow. A graduate of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (the class of Prof. A. Nasedkin). From 1994 to 2016 worked at the Department of Special Piano at the Moscow Conservatory, since 2009 he has been a professor.

Since 1984 has been teaching at the Central Music School at the Moscow Conservatory, since 2001  – the head of the special piano department, since 2016 – the rector of the Central Music School – the Academy of Performing Arts.

A famous teacher who gave the world performing arts a galaxy of bright, charismatic pianists. More than 150 times the students of Professor V. Pyasetsky became laureates of international and all-Russian competitions. A special place among them is occupied by the Winner of the XI Tchaikovsky International Competition (1998), People’s Artist Russia, a laureate of the State Prizes of the Russian Federation Denis Matsuev.

Valery Pyasetsky worked in the jury of the “Grand Piano Competition”, the “Astana Piano Passion”, the International Youth Tchaikovsky Competition, the International Competition of the Central Music School, the All-Russian Competition for Young Musicians “Constellation”.

Vladimir Tropp

Russia
Honored Worker of Arts of Russia

Born in 1939 in Moscow. Graduated from the Gnessins institute and the postgraduate course (the class of Prof. T. Gutman), several years he worked as an assistant in his class. For almost 60 years Vladimir Tropp has been working at the Department of Special Piano at the Russian Gnessins Academy of Music, for 25 years he had headed the department of special piano there, since 2002 he has been a professor at the Moscow Tchaikovsky State Conservatory.

Among his many students there are many concert pianists and winners of prestigious international competitions, teachers of the Moscow Conservatory, the Russian Gnessins Academy of Music, various conservatories of the world.

A Laureate of the Enescu International Piano Competition in Bucharest (1970). He performs many concerts as a soloist and an ensemble player, gives master classes in the cities of Russia, Europe, Japan, China, the Republic of Korea, etc.

The music of romantics occupies a large place in his repertoire – R. Schumann, F. Chopin, F. Liszt, J. Brahms. Special creative achievements of the musician are associated with his performance of the music by P. Tchaikovsky, S. Rachmaninoff, A. Skryabin, N. Medtner.

Vladimir is a musician of broad educational interests. For many years he has been working on the study of Rachmaninoff’s legacy. For several years he was in correspondence with the first biographer of Rachmaninoff, S. Satina. He has studied almost all the available archives of Rachmaninoff in Russia and abroad, published a number of articles about the composer and recorded a series of radio broadcasts.

Vice President of the Rachmaninoff Society in Moscow. Constantly participates in the work of the jury of international competitions. A Jury member of the International Competition of Pianists, Composers and Conductors named after Sergey Rachmaninoff.

Ta Quang Dong

Vietnam

Born in 1966 in Vietnam. After studying at the Vietnam Academy of Music he continued his education at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (the class of professors N. Emelyanova and V. Bunin) and at the Russian Gnessins Academy of Music (the class of professors B. Berlin and T. Rusanova).

He performed with great success in solo concerts and as part of chamber ensembles in Russia, Vietnam, and USA. His performances were widely broadcast on the national and international radio stations and television.

Ta Quang Dong is one of the founders of several international piano competitions and festivals in Vietnam.

He was a vice-rector of the Musical Academy in Hue, the rector of the Musical Conservatory in Ho Chi Minh City.

His students have won many awards at international and national piano competitions in Russia, USA, France, Serbia, Austria, Italy, Singapore, Thailand, the Republic of Korea, Vietnam.

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (since 2019).

Shadrina Airis

Belarus

Born in 2004 in Minsk (Belarus).

A student of the Republican College of Music at the Belarus State Academy of Music.

Already at the age of 7 she gave her first solo concert performing 11 pieces of the “Children’s Album” by P. Tchaikovsky.

A laureate of numerous competitions and a winner of special prizes, including: the X International Competition for Young Pianists named after T. Nikolaeva (the Grand Prix and a special prize for the best performance of a piece by T. Nikolaeva, Bryansk), a three times laureate of the International Children’s Competition “Music of Hope” (Belarus, Gomel), the XXI International Competition for Young Pianists named after Maria Yudina (I prize. St. Petersburg), the XXVIII International Competition for Young Musicians maned after D. Kabalevsky (I prize. Samara).

A scholarship holder of the Yuri Rozum International Charity Foundation.

Along with improving her piano skills, Iris also tries herself as a composer of piano music.

Program

I round

Chopin. Ballade №4 in F minor, Op.52
Rachmaninoff. Etude-tableaux in D minor, Op. 33, №4
Rachmaninoff. Etude- tableaux in G minor, Op. 33, №8
Rachmaninoff. Etude-tableaux in D major, Op. 39, №9

II round

Chopin. Piano Concerto in E Minor, Movement I