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. 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.