Part of: Keyboard Virtuosos I
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Beethoven’s first three piano sonatas, Op. 2, followed hard on the heels of his three Op. 1 piano trios. Eager to ingratiate himself with the notoriously demanding Viennese public, and to show off his tempestuous virtuosity at the keyboard, the ambitious young composer-pianist threw caution to the wind in the brilliant and expansive C-Major Piano Sonata.
Rachmaninoff used the theme-and-variation form as a vehicle for displaying both his compositional ingenuity and his virtuoso keyboard technique. The Variations on a Theme of Corelli, based on a popular Baroque chord progression known as the “folia,” anticipate his dazzlingly inventive Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini for piano and orchestra.
In an age replete with virtuosos, Chopin’s combination of bravura technique and poetic feeling defined a new school of Romantic pianism. Unlike his many nocturnes, mazurkas, waltzes, and other character pieces, the four ballades resemble tonal narratives in their dramatic interweaving of harmonies, rhythms, textures, and figurations.
Although Tchaikovsky wasn’t considered a pianist of the first rank, his concertos and solo works for the instrument are both technically and musically challenging. The short but emotionally potent character piece Méditation was written near the end of the composer’s life, shortly after he wrote the death-haunted “Pathétique” Symphony.
Prokofiev completed his powerful B-flat–Major Sonata in the Soviet Union during some of the darkest days of World War II. Alternatively percussive and tender, the music expresses what pianist Sviatoslav Richter called “the anxiously threatening atmosphere of a world that has lost its balance.”
Since his triumph at the 11th International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1998, Denis Matsuev has become a virtuoso in the Russian pianistic tradition and established himself as one of the most prominent pianists of his generation.
Mr. Matsuev regularly performs with the New York and Munich philharmonics; the Chicago, London, Pittsburgh, and Bavarian Radio symphony orchestras; Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Israel Philharmonic Orchestra; Berliner Philharmoniker; Orchestre symphonique de Montréal; and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. As the Capell-Virtuosen of the Staatskapelle Dresden during the 2017–2018 season, he performed in numerous concerts in Dresden and on tour with music director Christian Thielemann. He also performs regularly with legendary Russian orchestras, including the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Mariinsky Orchestra, and Russian National Orchestra.
As a recitalist, Mr. Matsuev can be heard in the world’s great concert halls, including his annual appearance at Carnegie Hall. His extensive discography includes highly acclaimed recital recordings, as well as concerto recordings with the New York Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and cyclical recordings of the great Russian concertos with the Mariinsky Orchestra and Valery Gergiev.
As one of Russia’s preeminent musicians and prominent public figures, Mr. Matsuev is a member of the Presidential Council for Culture and Art. He was also Russia’s official ambassador for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which he opened with a globally broadcast performance in Moscow’s Red Square. Mr. Matsuev is the artistic director of Switzerland’s Sergei Rachmaninoff Foundation, and he curates and directs his own prestigious concert series, Denis Matsuev Invites, at the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory.
Since 2008, Mr. Matsuev has presided over New Names, a charitable foundation that selects and supports talented young Russian musicians, artists, and poets in the achievement of their professional goals. More than 10,000 children have received monetary grants and/or the opportunity to perform on professional stages through the foundation. Mr. Matsuev was named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for his work with New Names.
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