Pletnev Mikhail Vasilievich, *14 April 1957 Arkhangelsk, Russian pianist, conductor and composer. Pletnev’s parents were professional musicians – his mother was a pianist and his father was an accordionist (he served as a docent at the Kazan Conservatory). As a child, Pletnev began learning music at the Special Music School in Kazan with K. Shashkina. In 1970, he moved with his family to Moscow, where he joined E. Timakin’s piano class at the Central Music School. In 1974–79, he studied at the Moscow Conservatory in the piano classes of J. Flier and L. Własenko and the composition classes of A. Leman. In 1974, he received the Grand Prix at the Jeunesses Musicales competition in Paris, in 1977, he won the All-Union Piano Competition in Leningrad, and in 1978, he won the international competition named after P. Tchaikovsky in Moscow. These successes allowed Pletnev to make significant concert trips to many countries, including Great Britain, Germany, Sweden, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Japan and the United States. In 1986, Pletnev’s conducting debut took place in Moscow (pieces for piano and orchestra by Liszt, soloist L. Vlasenko). In 1990, with the help of numerous Russian private sponsors and artists, he founded the Russian National Orchestra. He was the artistic director and first conductor of the ensemble; since 1999, he has been working with him as a pianist and conductor, honoured with the title of conductor laureate. In 1993, he signed a contract with DG for exclusive recordings of the orchestra (under the name Russian National Orchestra); there were registered, among others, orchestral works by Dvořák, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, all symphonies by P. Tchaikovsky. In 1997, DG published Pletnev’s first solo album (Chopin’s works). The double album Live at Carnegie Hall, which is a recording of Pletnev’s recital from 1 November 2000 (J.S. Bach arranged by Busoni, D. Scarlatti, Beethoven, Chopin, Moshkovsky, Balakirev, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin), ed. 2001, was awarded the Echo Award. At concerts, Pletnev enjoys performing sonatas (by D. Scarlatti, C.Ph.E. Bach, Liszt, Beethoven, W.A. Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Scriabin) and also presents his own piano transcriptions of fragments from ballets by Tchaikovsky (The Nutcracker) and R. Shchedrin (Anna Karenina). Pletnev’s pianism is characterised by rare virtuosity, precision and transparency, as well as absolute control over form. Pletnev composed, among others, Triptych for orchestra, Capriccio for piano and orchestra, Viola Concerto (performed in 1998), he is also the author of the transcription of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto for clarinet and orchestra.
