Grand Finale
RUSSIAN NATIONAL
ORCHESTRA
ORCHESTRA
Dubai, UAE
Join Alexander Sladkovsky and the Russian National Orchestra for a performance of two of the most popular works in the Russian repertoire. The evening’s concert opens with Rachmaninoff’s powerful and imposing Piano Concerto No. 3, a work loved by millions for its highly emotive and impressive soundworld, and feared by pianists worldwide as a behemoth of stunning difficulty. The revered Russian pianist and composer wrote this piece in the summer of 1909, with the work premierèd in the November of that year by the New York Symphony Orchestra conducted by Walter Damrosch. The piece was dedicated to the legendary pianist Josef Hofmann, who, interestingly, however, never performed it.
The concerto is in three movements, the first opening with a melody that Rachmaninoff claimed “wrote itself”. This soon gives way to a busier texture, featuring rapid notes in the piano part while the opening motif is referenced in the strings. The development of this theme continues throughout the movement, presenting varying ideas as the piano continues virtuosically throughout. The rhapsodic and highly expressive Adagio movement is an emotionally charged venture, featuring a lively ending which segues quickly into the last movement. The final part of the work begins with strong chords across the orchestra followed by energetic piano figurations supported by the strings, wind and timpani, before the emergence of a herald-like melody in the brass. The middle section of the movement provides a thoughtful diversion from the faster passages at the beginning and end before closing with triumphant virtuosity as the piece climbs then descends to its thrilling conclusion. The famous Russian pianist Denis Matsuev will perform the solo part for this concert, bringing his prodigious skill and masterful control of expression to bear as he tackles one of the repertoire’s most demanding works.
After the intermission, the orchestra returns with Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, an overarching narrative of the composer’s thoughts on the idea of fate, self-reflection, the unpredictability of the human mind and finally that of redemptive optimism. Written in the shadow of Tchaikovsky’s disastrous marriage to Antonina Ivanovna Milyukova and dedicated to his patron, Nadezhda Filaretovna von Meck, the widow of a wealthy railroad tycoon with whom he maintained a long-term correspondence, the symphony was completed in 1878, its premierè taking place in the February of that year in Moscow. Beginning with a strong opening statement from the brass, meant, according to Tchaikovsky, to represent a Demacles-like “sword of fate”, the heavy melancholy of the first movement continues throughout the second, but with an additional weariness in the music. The symphony then departs somewhat from these themes, the pizzicato string figurations and lively energy of the third movement illustrating, in the composer’s own words, “fleeting images that pass through the imagination when one has begun to drink a little wine”, with the fourth and final movement boldly establishing a resolutely positive finale to one of Tchaikovsky’s most impressive works.
Denis Matsuev
Alexander Sladkovsky is a Russian conductor, the People's Artist of the Republic of Tatarstan, the People's Artist of Russia, who graduated from Moscow and Saint Petersburg conservatories. He is a winner of the III International Prokofiev Competition. In 2001, he conducted in a concert at the Hermitage Theater in honor of the visit of Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. He assisted Mariss Jansons and Mstislav Rostropovich and from 2006 to 2010 he was a conductor of the New Russia State Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Yuri Bashmet. Since 2010 Alexander Sladkovsky is an Artistic Director and a Chief Conductor of the Tatarstan National Symphony Orchestra in the city of Kazan (Tatarstan, Russia), which he transformed into one of the finest orchestras in Russia.
Working with the Tatarstan National Symphony Orchestra for 11 years, he has significantly enhanced the status of the orchestra in the musical life of the Republic of Tatarstan and the whole country. He expanded the range of its creative capacities, effectively putting into practice the latest formats of professional work at the international level. Concerts featuring TNSO under the direction of Alexander Sladkovsky are very popular in Tatarstan, and every performance is usually sold out. Perm, Omsk, Tyumen, Irkutsk, Saint Petersburg, and Moscow are among those Russian cities, where Sladkovsky and his orchestra are known and appreciated.
In 2014, the TNSO conducted by Alexander Sladkovsky performed at the La Folle Journée festival in Japan. In 2016, for the first time in the orchestra's history, it gave concerts during a European tour in the Brucknerhaus (Linz) and in the Golden Hall of Musikverein (Vienna). In December 2018, the TNSO and Maestro Alexander Sladkovsky made the first tour in China.
The TNSO under the direction of Alexander Sladkovsky is the first Russian regional orchestra recorded by Medici.tv and Mezzo channels. Moreover, one of the concerts at the La Folle Journée festival in 2019 in Nantes was recorded and broadcasted by ARTE channel.
Orchestras under Alexander Sladkovsky took part in various important national and international projects and festivals, such as Musical Olympus, Musical spring, Yuri Temirkanov Arts Square festival, Wild Cherry Forest, All-Russian Irina Bogacheva Young Opera Singers' Competition, Rodion Shchedrin's Self-portrait festival (held in 2002 for the 70th anniversary of the composer), Young Euro Classic festival (Berlin), XII and XIII Easter festivals, Crescendo festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik festival, Kunstfest Weimar, Budapest Spring festival 2006, V Festival of the World's Symphony Orchestras, XI Wörthersee Classics Festival (Klagenfurt, Austria), Hibla Gerzmava Invites…festival, International Festival of Vocal Music Opera Apriori, Russian Day in the World (Victoria Hall, Geneva), International Tchaikovsky Arts Festival in Klin, International Piano Festival La Roque d'Anthéron and La Folle Journée in France.
Alexander Sladkovsky collaborated with internationally renowned artists such as D. Matsuev, Y. Bashmet, M. Pletnev, R. Honeck, K. Penderecki, R. Buchbinder, B. Berezovsky, B. Douglas, Y. Yokoyama, N. Lugansky, A. Toradze, E. Mechetina, K. Bashmet, V. Tretiakov, R. Capuçon, J.-Y. Thibaudet, G. Kremer, V. Repin, V. Gluzman, N. Znaider, F. Dumont, L. Kavakos, J. Rachlin, P. Tsukerman, S. Krylov, A. Baeva, D. Sitkovetsky, D. Geringas, A. Knyazev, M. Brunello, A. Rudin, M. Caballé, I. Bogacheva, O. Borodina, H. Gerzmava, S. Kermes, A. Shagimuratova, A. Garifullina, D. Alieva, Sumi Jo, R. Alagna, P. Domingo, D. Hvorostovsky, I. Abdrazakov, L. Debarg and the others.
In October 2013 Maestro Sladkovsky was invited by Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia to conduct works of Sergei Rachmaninov during the anniversary concerts dedicated to the composer. In the same season, he was re-invited to conduct several concerts with a Tchaikovsky program. Previous collaborations have included the Bolshoi Theatre, State Academic Symphony Orchestra "Evgeny Svetlanov", Russian National Orchestra, Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, National Philharmonic of Russia, Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, Niedersächsisches Staatsorchester Hannover, Orchestra of Theatro Municipal De São Paulo, orchestras of the Moscow, Novosibirsk and Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Concerto Budapest Orchestra and Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and Russo-German Music Academy Orchestra.
In April 2014, the TNSO under the direction of Alexander Sladkovsky performed at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris at the ceremony, where Denis Matsuev was awarded the title of "Goodwill Ambassador". In the 2014/15 concert season, Alexander Sladkovsky with the TNSO performed at the Bolshoi Theater of Russia during the concert, dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the Crescendo festival, and in Saint Petersburg within the first orchestra's subscription at the Mariinsky Concert Hall.
Alexander Sladkovsky is the founder and the artistic director of the Rakhlin Seasons, Miras, White Lilac, Kazan Autumn, Concordia, Denis Matsuev Meets Friends, and Creative Discovery festivals. In 2012 Sony Music and RCA Red Seal released a three-CD album entitled "Anthology of music by composers of Tatarstan" and a CD "Enlightenment". In 2016 in cooperation with the Melodiya record label several global musical projects were realized: the recording of three symphonies of G. Mahler (Nos. 1, 5, 9) and also recordings of all symphonies and concertos of D. Shostakovich. In May 2020, the digital release of the "Tchaikovsky-2020" box set took place — a recording of all symphonies and instrumental concerts by P. I. Tchaikovsky on the Sony Classical label.
The Tatarstan National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Alexander Sladkovsky is currently the first and only regional orchestra that has been honored to have its own annual subscription in the Moscow State Philharmonic Society.
In June 2015 Maestro Sladkovsky was awarded the medal of the commemorative badge "Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov", and in October 2015, the President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Nurgaliyevich Minnikhanov presented him the Duslyk Order ("duslyk" in translation from the Tatar language means "friendship"). In 2016, Alexander Sladkovsky was awarded the prize "Conductor of the Year" by the national newspaper The Musical Review and "Person of the Year in Culture", according to the magazine Delovoi Kvartal and the Kazan-based online newspaper Business Online.
In 2019, Alexander Sladkovsky has been awarded the Sergei Rachmaninov International Award in the nomination "Special Project in the Name of Sergei Rachmaninov" for special attention to his legacy and organizing the Sergei Rachmaninov International Festival "White Lilac" in Kazan. In the autumn of 2019, Alexander Sladkovsky established an annual scholarship at the Moscow Conservatory for students of the Opera and Symphony Conducting Division aimed at supporting and developing the talent of young conductors.
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 Orchestras, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburg Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Staatskapella Dresden, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, 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” Orchestra of London, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Filarmonica della Scala, Orchestra of Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Vienna Symphony, Israel Philharmonic and Rotterdam Philharmonic, Oslo Symphony, National Orchestra of Belgium, Swiss Romande orchestra, 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 gives recitals in the USA in Boston, Washington and New York in Carnegie Hall (Keyboard Virtuosos series), in London in Royal Festival Hall (International Piano series), Madrid in Auditorio Nacional de Musica, Amsterdam in Concertgebouw (Master Pianists series) and Moscow (the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory).
Denis Matsuev regularly appears with the most distinguished conductors on a stage today, including Valery Gergiev, Yuri Temirkanov, Mariss Jansons, Zubin Mehta, Ricardo Chailly, Christian Thielemann, Kurt Masur, Lorin Maazel, 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.
For 11 consecutive years Denis Matsuev has his original series at The Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory “Denis Matsuev invites…”. Many famous orchestras, prominent conductors, outstanding soloists have taken part in it.
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 music festival “Crescendo” (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. Additionally, Mr. Matsuev is the president of the charitable Russian foundation “New Names” 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. The recording has received strong positive reviews praising his execution and creativity. His Carnegie Hall recital in November 2007 was recorded and released in 2009 as an album entitled “Denis Matsuev – Concert at Carnegie Hall.” The New York Times praised this performance writing “…his poetic instincts held fast in tender moments, with trills as thrillingly precise as one might ever hope to hear.”
Mariinsky Label releases include Rachmaninoff Concerto No. 3, Shostakovich Concertos No. 1, No. 2 and Schedrin’s Fifth with Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra in the famed Mariinsky Concert Hall. Among many awards granted is the Five Star rating of BBC Music Magazine. Norman Lebrecht wrote: “Neither is a virtuoso vehicle and, the composer apart, there is no pianist who has stamped these works decisively as his or her own. Denis Matsuev, a Siberian who made his name in Rachmaninoff is perhaps the first to come close”.
In April 2013 Denis Matsuev presented the record (RCA Red Seal) with S. Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Rhapsody in Blue by G. Gershwin, accompanied by the New York Philharmonic under the baton of its music director Alan Gilbert.
In September 2013 the label LSO Live released a new disc with Denis Matsuev and LSO under baton of Valery Gergiev performing Symphonia Concertante by K. Szymanowski.
Gramophone has chosen Denis Matsuev’s recording of Tchaikovsky Concerti Nos. 1 & 2 as their recording of the month in April 2014.
“Matsuev’s Tchaikovsky No 1 is thrilling, the work’s drama excitingly to the fore – a new ‘personal benchmark’, says Jeremy Nicholas. That’s for you to decide, of course, but do hear it.” Gramophone (UK)
In 2018 Mariinsky Label released a disc with the record of two legendary piano concertos – Piano concerto #2 by S. Prokofiev and Piano concerto #2 by S. Rachmaninoff, performed by Denis Matsuev and Mariinsky Theatre orchestra under baton of Valery Gergiev.
In 2019 Mariinsky Label presents the recording of S. V. Rachmaninoff’s Piano concerto №4 with Denis Matsuev, Mariinsky Orchestra and Valery Gergiev. And consequently the box of records with all Rachmaninoff’s concertos will be released.
For many years Denis Matsuev has collaborated with the Sergei Rachmaninov Foundation, established by Alexander Rachmaninov, the grandson of the composer. Mr. Matsuev was chosen by the Foundation to perform and record Rachmaninov’s unknown pieces on the composer's own piano at the Rachmaninov house “Villa Senar” in Lucerne. Later, he became the artistic director of the Foundation.
In 2021 Denis Matsuev becomes the artistic director of renewed Rachmaninoff Competition in Moscow with three nominations: pianist, composer and conductor.
Denis Matsuev is a laureate of prestigious “Shostakovich’s 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 Music Festival in Irkutsk “Stars on the Baikal”.
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.
Denis Matsuev was the Chairman of the jury for XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition in the piano category.
This season sees Mr. Matsuev performs with the Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra and Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra with Yuri Temirkanov, with New-York Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Mariinsky orchestras under baton of Maestro Gergiev, Chicago Symphony orchestra with Leonard Sladkin, Israel Philharmonic with Zubin Mehta, Staatskapella Dresden and Christian Thielemann, Vienna and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras under baton of Mariss Jansons, London Symphony orchestra under baton of Gianandrea Noseda, La Scala Orchestra and Lucerne Festival Orchestra with Riccardo Chailly, Montreal Symphony Orchestra with Kent Nagano, the Orchestra of the Teatro di San Carlo with Neeme Jarvi.
He 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 participates in international music festivals such as Ravinia festival, Verbier Festival, Lucerne Festival, Salzburg Easter Festival, Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, La Roque d'Anthéron Festival, Stresa Festival and Bucharest Music festival.
The Russian National Orchestra was founded in 1990 by pianist and conductor Mikhail Pletnev. Of its debut at the BBC Proms in London, the Evening Standard wrote, 'They played with such captivating beauty that the audience gave an involuntary sigh of pleasure.' The RNO has been described as 'a living symbol of the best in Russian art' (Miami Herald) and 'as close to perfect as one could hope for' (Trinity Mirror).
Maintaining an active international schedule, the RNO appears in the music capitals of Europe, Asia and the Americas, is a frequent guest at festivals such as Edinburgh, the BBC Proms and Festival Napa Valley, and presents the RNO Grand Festival each September to open the Moscow season.
RNO concerts are often aired on National Public Radio, the European Broadcasting Union, and Russia’s Kultura channel. Their discography, launched with a highly praised 1991 recording of Tchaikovsky's Pathétique, now numbers more than 80 critically acclaimed recordings. Notable releases include the complete Beethoven symphonies and piano concertos on Deutsche Grammophon, Tchaikovsky’s six symphonies for Pentatone, and the RNO Shostakovich project, also on Pentatone, cited as “the most exciting cycle of the Shostakovich symphonies to be put down on disc, and easily the best recorded” (SACD.net).
Their recording of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf and Beintus' Wolf Tracks, conducted by Kent Nagano and narrated by Sophia Loren, Bill Clinton and Mikhail Gorbachev, received a 2004 Grammy Award, making the RNO the first Russian orchestra to win the recording industry's highest honor. Their recording of Shostakovich Symphony No. 7, conducted by Paavo Järvi, was awarded the Diapason d’Or de l’Année 2015 as the year's best symphonic album, and was nominated for a 2016 Grammy Award.
