Mikhail Vasilievich Pletnev (Russian: Михаи́л Васи́льевич Плетнёв, Mikha'il Vas'ilevič Plet'nëv; born 14 April 1957) is a Russian pianist, conductor and composer.
Life and career
Pletnev was born into a musical family in Arkhangelsk, then part of the Soviet Union. His father played and taught the bayan, and his mother was a pianist.[1][2] He studied with Kira Shashkina for six years at the Special Music School of the Kazan Conservatory,[3] before entering the Moscow Central Music School at the age of 13, where he studied under Evgeny Timakin. Also in the class was fellow pianist Ivo Pogorelić, with whom he formed a lasting friendship. In 1974, he entered the Moscow Conservatory, studying under Yakov Flier and Lev Vlassenko. At age 21, he won the Gold Medal at the VI International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1978, which earned him international recognition and drew great attention worldwide.[4] The following year he made his debut in the United States. He also taught at the Moscow Conservatory. Pletnev has acknowledged Sergei Rachmaninoff as a particularly notable influence on him as a musician.[5][6]
Pletnev conducting, 2017
In 1988, Pletnev was invited to perform at the superpower conference in Washington, D.C., where he met and befriended Mikhail Gorbachev. From this friendship, he gained the support to found two years later the Russian National Orchestra in 1990, the first non-government-supported orchestra in Russia since 1917, and became its first principal conductor. He and the orchestra made their recording debut on Virgin Classics, releasing Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony and Marche Slave in 1991. He stepped down as Principal Conductor in the late 1990s, but remained the orchestra's artistic director.[7]
In July 2010, Pletnev was arrested on suspicion of child molestation in Thailand, where he owns a home.[9][10] He denied the allegations and was released on bail.[11][12] The charges were dropped on 28 September.[13]
27 May 1996 – for the creation and execution of the Jubilee Music Festival "Alfred Schnittke Festival" (1994, Moscow), Third and Fourth Symphonies, the Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, Concert number 2 for Cello and Orchestra, Concerto Grosso № 5, three spiritual choruses ("Hail Mary Hail," "Jesus Christ" "Our Father"), the cantata "The History of Dr. Johann Faust,"
9 June 2006 – for outstanding technical skill and innovation in the field of musical art, which opened a new chapter in national and world culture
Sergei Taneyev - At the reading of a psalm. Mikhail Pletnev, Lolita Semenina, Marianna Tarassova, Mikhail Gubsky, Andrei Baturkin, Vladislav Tchernushenko, Russian National Orchestra. PENTATONE PTC 5186038 (2004).
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