Mikhail Pletnev

Mikhail Pletnev studied at Moscow Conservatory and Kazan Conservatory. The recorded working language is Russian. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are classical. Distinctions recorded are Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class, Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class, Lenin Komsomol Prize and People's Artist of the RSFSR.

• Name — Mikhail Pletnev • Honorific Suffix — People's Artist of the RSFSR • Native Name — Михаил Плетнёв • Born — 14 April 1957 • Birthplace — Arkhangelsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union • Genre — Classical music • Occupation — * Pianist • conductor • composer • Instrument — Piano • Label — Deutsche Grammophon, Pentatone, Virgin Classics • Website — mikhailpletnev.com

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. He studied with Kira Shashkina for six years at the Special Music School of the Kazan Conservatory, 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. 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. • Illustration — 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. Pletnev has made a number of recordings with Deutsche Grammophon. His recordings are mostly of Russian works, though in 2007 he recorded the complete Beethoven symphonies. The first works he recorded were for orchestra, including Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty, his Sixth Symphony and Manfred Symphony, and Rachmaninoff's Second and Third Symphonies. Pletnev's recording of Tchaikovsky's First Symphony (Winter Daydreams) received critical acclaim. In July 2010 Pletnev was arrested on suspicion of child molestation in Thailand, where he owns a home. He denied the allegations and was released on bail. The charges were dropped on 28 September.

• 1976: Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin: 2 Concert Pieces from „Anna Karenina“ (Transcription for piano) • 1978 (?): Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty (Transcriptions for piano) • 2003: Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev: Suite from Cinderella op. 87 (Transcription for two pianos)

• Mikhail Pletnev interview, October 27, 2000

• 1978: Gold Medal and First Prize Tchaikovsky Competition Moscow • 1999: Echo Klassik (Skrjabin) • 2002: State Prize First Class of the Russian Federation by President Vladimir Putin • 2005: Grammy Awards of 2005 Best Chamber Music Performance with Martha Argerich • 2006: State Prize First Class of the Russian Federation for the year 2005 by President Vladimir Putin

• Lenin Komsomol Prize (1978) – for high performance skills • Glinka State Prize of the RSFSR (1982) – for concert programs (1978–1981) • Russian Federation State Prize in Literature and Art: • 7 December 1993 – for concert programs of the Russian National Symphony Orchestra in recent years • 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 • Order of Merit for the Fatherland; • Prize of the President of the Russian Federation in the field of art and literature in 2001 (30 January 2002) • 47th Grammy Awards (2005) – best chamber music performance