Mikhail Pletnev
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Mikhail Vasilievich Pletnev (Russian: Михаил Васильевич Плетнёв, Mikhail Vasil'evič Pletnëv - pronounced Pletnyóv) (born 14 April 1957) in Arkhangelsk, Russia is a pianist, conductor, and composer.
He was born to a very musical family; his father played and taught accordion, his mother piano.[1] He entered the Central School of Music at the age of 13 and, in 1974, entered the Moscow Conservatory, under the instruction of the famous pianists and teachers Yakov Flier and Lev Vlasenko. Aged 21, he won the Gold Medal of the VI International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1978, which earned him international recognition and drew great attention worldwide. The next year he made his debut in the United States. He also taught at the Moscow Conservatory.
In 1988, he was invited to perform at the superpower conference in Washington, D.C. At this conference, he met and befriended Mikhail Gorbachev. Because of 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 was its first principal conductor.[2] He stepped down as Principal Conductor in the late 1990's, but he is now the orchestra's artistic director.[3] Mikhail Pletnev has been named first guest conductor of the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano, Switzerland starting september 2008.
Pletnev's recordings are mostly of Russian works, though he has recently recorded the complete Beethoven symphonies for the Deutsche Grammophon label. The first works he recorded were for orchestra, including Sleeping Beauty, Tchaikovsky's 6th and Manfred Symphonies, and Rachmaninov's Second and Third Symphonies. All were well received by critics. His piano repertoire is also very large, including works like The Seasons, many Scarlatti Sonatas, Pictures at an Exhibition, and his own transcriptions of suites from the Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty.
Pletnev has been an exclusive contract pianist for Deutsche Grammophon since 1996.
[edit] Awards and recognitions
- Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance:
- Martha Argerich & Mikhail Pletnev for Prokofiev (Arr. Pletnev): Cinderella Suite for Two Pianos/Ravel: Ma Mere L'Oye (2005)
- State Prize of the Russian Federation (2005) [4]
[edit] References
- ^ Fanning, David. "Pletnev, Mikhail." Grove Dicionary of Music and Musicians. 2001.
- ^ "Mikhail Pletnev." Russian National Orchestra Official Website. http://www.russianarts.org/rno/pletnev.cfm
- ^ Geoffrey Norris, "Maestro miseryguts". Telegraph, 22 March 2004.
- ^ [1]
