Blog #116. Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Tour

These days we started our collaboration with, probably, one of the most brilliant orchestra of the world – Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Incredible, great, with flawless sound, refined style and highest quality of performance orchestra, which can play any repertoire, like Piano concerto #2 or Symphony #6 by Prokofiev.

All great orchestras have one common feature - continuity of traditions. There are several generations of musicians in Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, some of musicians have been performing with it for 40 years. We have become friends with them during years of collaboration, we keep in touch and perform together in the format of “Vienna – Berlin” Chamber Orchestra, record discs. By the way the disc with our performance of Schnittke, Shostakovich and Lutosławski with Vienna – Berlin Chamber Orchestra is released soon.

It was great pleasure to perform with Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under baton of Valery Gergiev in Musikverein two days in a row. Valery Abisalovich was that person, who convinced me three years ago that Prokofiev's second concert was music that I am destined to play. I had a long and complicated relationship with this concert before, but the Maestro's opinion made me make another attempt to find in this music harmony with the strings of my soul. And now it is one of my favorite concerts. Valery Gergiev and I recorded and played it all around the world with many orchestras. Including the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, with which we had an unforgettable story in the context of Prokofiev's Second concert. And just yesterday, in the Golden Hall, with Maestro Gergiev and the Vienna Philharmonic it also sounded in a very special way.

Now we are in Paris, continuing our tour with Prokofiev's concert. Our relationship with this orchestra will continue for the next few years: we planned a big tour in Europe with Mariss Jansons and a huge Asian tour in a year and a half.

Stay in touch.

Yours, Denis Matsuev.