Mikhail PLETNEV

Mikhail PLETNEV is an artist who defies simple classification, whose technique and genius as pianist, conductor and composer continue to enchant and amaze. The child of musicians, Pletnev was born in Archangelsk, Russia and displayed exceptional musical talent from an early age. Growing up in Kazan, he transferred to the Central School of Music at the age of 13 and, in 1974, entered the Moscow Conservatory, studying under Jakob Flier and Lev Vlasenko. Pletnev was the Gold Medal and First Prize winner of the 1978 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in Moscow when he was only 21.
Attracted by Pletnev’s reputation and his vision of a new model for the performing arts in Russia, many of the finest musicians in the country joined him in launching the Russian National Orchestra in 1990. Under his artistic leadership as Music Director and Principal Conductor, the RNO in less than a decade has become known as one of the world’s leading orchestras.
Renowned as one of the great pianists of our time, Pletnev continues to perform regularly as soloist and recitalist in the musical capitals and major festivals of Europe, Asia and in his native Russia. He has appeared as soloist with Haitink, Abbado, Chailly, Sanderling, Nagano, Gergiev, Jarvi, Blomstedt and the San Francisco Symphony, Maazel and the Bayerischer Rundfunk Symphony, Thielemann and the Israel Philharmonic, Gatti and the Santa Cecilia Symphony, Pesek and the Czech Philharmonic, and Giulini and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
Pletnev’s recordings and live performances as pianist have proved him to be an outstanding interpreter of an extensive repertoire. His unrivalled transcriptions for piano of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite and Sleeping Beauty (both works he also performs as conductor) were selected, along with his performance of Tchaikovsky’s Second Piano Concerto and The Seasons, for the 1998 anthology “Great Pianists of the 20th Century” (Philips Classics).
As a composer, Pletnev’s works include Classical Symphony, Triptych for Symphony Orchestra, Fantasy on Kazakh Themes for Violin and Orchestra and Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra. In December 1998, the world premiere of his Concerto for Viola and Orchestra took place in Moscow with Yuri Bashmet as soloist. The world premiere recording of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto arranged by Pletnev for clarinet (Michael Collins, soloist), was released by Deutsche Grammophon in 2000 to rave reviews. His stature in Russia was formally recognized in 1995 when he was awarded the first State Prize of the Russian Federation by President Yeltsin.