Mikhail Pletnev
Reaching the highest level of prominence as both pianist and conductor, Mikhail Pletnev is a major figure on the contemporary Russian musical scene. He is also a prolific composer and a competent amateur violinist.
Pletnev was born on April 14, 1957, in Archangelsk in the far north of what was then the Soviet Union. His family was musical; his father played and taught the bayan button accordion, and his mother was a pianist. When the family moved to Kazan in Russia's Tatarstan region, Pletnev began piano studies with Julia Shaskin. He moved to Moscow at 13 to study at the Moscow Central Music School with Evgeny Timakin, and a Grand Prix at the Jeunesses Musicales International in 1945 proved to be the first in a long series of prizes for the young pianist. At 15, Pletnev moved to the Moscow Conservatory for studies with Yakov Flier, whose teaching propelled him to gold medals in two of the Soviet Union's toughest events, the All-Union Competition in 1977 and the Tchaikovsky Competition in 1978. Pletnev launched a touring career that went fully international as restrictions on Soviet musicians loosened in the 1980s. His fluent, elegant style was sometimes likened to those of Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli and even Vladimir Horowitz. He made his recording debut in 1988 on the Virgin Classics label with Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 1 in F sharp minor, Op. 1, and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43, with the Philharmonia Orchestra.
In the late '80s, Pletnev struck up an acquaintance with Soviet head of state Mikhail Gorbachev, who aided him in founding the Russian National Orchestra in 1990; it was the first privately funded orchestra in Russia since 1917. The new orchestra, with Pletnev as conductor and artistic director, was successful from the start. It toured the U.S. in 1992 and 1993. In 1994, he moved to Deutsche Grammophon, recording Rachmaninov's Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27, as conductor of the Russian National Orchestra. His repertory runs from Scarlatti to Rachmaninov, with whom he is especially identified; he is a superb Mozartian and a strong interpreter of a variety of Russian works, but he rarely performs contemporary music.
From the early '90s forward, Pletnev performed somewhat less often as a pianist, although he continued to record both as a pianist and conductor. He stepped down as the Russian National Orchestra's conductor in 1999 but continues (as of 2022) to hold the position of artistic director and to conduct the group occasionally. In the 2010s, he and the Russian National Orchestra often recorded for PentaTone Classics, and in 2022, he moved to Profil, leading the Russian National Orchestra and violinist Ivan Pochekin in violin concertos by Tchaikovsky and Glazunov. By that time, his recording catalog numbered well over 100 items.
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Chopin Evocations
Daniil Trifonov, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev, Sergei Babayan
Klassik - Erschienen bei Deutsche Grammophon (DG) am 06.10.2017
5 Sterne Fono Forum Klassik24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaïkovski : Casse-noisette (Intégrale)
Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Klassik - Erschienen bei Ondine am 06.09.2011
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
TCHAIKOVSKY, P.I.: Swan Lake [Ballet] (Russian National Orchestra, Pletnev)
Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Ballett - Erschienen bei Ondine am 23.02.2010
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake Suite & Bizet/Shchedrin: Carmen Suite
Rachmaninoff International Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Klassik - Erschienen bei EuroArts Music International am 15.03.2024
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Shchedrin: Carmen Suite; Naughty Limericks; The Chimes
Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Klassik - Erschienen bei Deutsche Grammophon (DG) am 01.01.2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Piotr Ilyitch Tchaikovski : Symphonie n°2 "Petite Russie", Op.17
Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Klassik - Erschienen bei Pentatone am 01.06.2012
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 11, "The Year 1905"
Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Klassik - Erschienen bei PentaTone am 01.01.2006
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mikhail Pletnev - Concerti & Encores (Live)
Mikhail Pletnev, Verbier Festival Orchestra, Iván Fischer, Kent Nagano
Klassik - Erschienen bei Verbier Festival Gold am 23.09.2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: Piano Sonata No. 2, Nocturnes, Barcarolle & Scherzo
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 28.11.2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live at Victoria-Hall Geneva, 2 March 2021 (Live Recording, Geneva 2021)
Mikhail Pletnev, L'Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, Gabor Takacs-Nagy
Klassik - Erschienen bei Claves Records am 11.02.2022
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
C.P.E. Bach : Sonatas & Rondos
Klassik - Erschienen bei Deutsche Grammophon (DG) am 01.01.2001
Qobuz’ Schallplattensammlung16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Prokofiev: Cinderella for 2 pianos / Ravel: Ma Mère l'Oye
Martha Argerich, Mikhail Pletnev
Klassik - Erschienen bei Deutsche Grammophon (DG) am 01.01.2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sonates pour clavier
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 30.09.1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 'Pathetique' - Marche Slave - The Seasons, Op.21 - The Sleeping Beuty
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 01.01.1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Scriabin: Piano Sonatas Nos. 2, 4, 5, 7 & 10, Preludes, Etudes
John Ogdon, Andrei Gavrilov, Mikhail Pletnev, Simon Trpčeski
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 16.01.2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaïkovski : Symphonie n° 6 - Capriccio Italien
Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Klassik - Erschienen bei Pentatone am 01.08.2011
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Scarlatti: 15 Sonatas
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 01.01.1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition/Tchaikovsky: The Seasons
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 07.02.2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas "Moonlight", "Waldstein" & "Appassionata"
Klassik - Erschienen bei Warner Classics am 01.01.1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
RAVEL: Piano Concerto in G major / PROKOFIEV: Piano Concerto No. 5 / SCHLIME: 3 Improvisations
Francesco Tristano Schlimé, Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Instrumentalmusik - Erschienen bei PentaTone am 01.01.2006
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 10
Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Klassik - Erschienen bei PentaTone am 06.07.2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo