Mikhail Pletnev (©Molchanovsky)

Mikhail Pletnev
Mikhail Pletnev's genius as pianist, conductor and composer enchants and amazes audiences around the globe. He was Gold Medal and First Prize winner of the 1978 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition when he was 21, a prize that earned him early recognition worldwide. An invitation to perform at the 1988 superpower summit in Washington led to a friendship with Mikhail Gorbachev and the historic opportunity to make music in artistic freedom.
 
In 1990 Pletnev formed the first independent orchestra in Russia's history. Many of the country's finest musicians joined Pletnev in launching the Russian National Orchestra. Under his leadership, the RNO achieved in a few short years a towering stature among the world's orchestras. Pletnev describes the RNO as his greatest joy and continues to serve as its Artistic Director and Principal Conductor.
 
Pletnev's performances and recordings have proved him to be an outstanding interpreter of an extensive repertoire, both as pianist and conductor. His recordings have earned numerous prizes including a 2005 Grammy Award for his own arrangement of Prokofiev’s Cinderella. He received Grammy nominations for Schumann Symphonic Etudes (2004) and Rachmaninov and Prokofiev Piano Concertos No. 3 (2003). His album of Scarlatti's Sonatas (Virgin/EMI) received a 1996 Gramophone Award. BBC Music Magazine called the recording “piano playing at its greatest... this performance alone would be enough to secure Pletnev a place among the greatest pianists ever known.” His recording of the complete Beethoven symphonies and piano concertos (Deutsche Grammophon) was named “Best of 2007” by The New Yorker.
 
Pletnev's compositions include works for orchestra, piano, strings and voices. His transcriptions of Nutcracker Suite and Sleeping Beauty were selected for the 1998 anthology “Great Pianists of the 20th Century” (Philips Classics).
 
Today he is one of Russia's most respected and influential artists. Pianist, conductor, composer and cultural leader — all are significant facets of Mikhail Pletnev's life as an artist. Yet he considers himself, simply, a musician.