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.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Chopin Evocations
Daniil Trifonov, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev, Sergei Babayan
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 6 Oct 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: The Symphonies & Manfred
Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Classical - Released by PENTATONE on 11 Jan 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaïkovski : Casse-noisette (Intégrale)
Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Classical - Released by Ondine on 6 Sep 2011
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms, Alexey Shor & Others: Piano Works (Live)
Classical - Released by Farao Classics on 19 Apr 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff Live – The Piano Concertos & The Paganini Rhapsody (Live)
Rachmaninoff International Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev, Kent Nagano
Classical - Released by EuroArts Music International on 26 Apr 2024
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
TCHAIKOVSKY, P.I.: Swan Lake [Ballet] (Russian National Orchestra, Pletnev)
Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Ballets - Released by Ondine on 23 Feb 2010
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake Suite & Bizet/Shchedrin: Carmen Suite
Rachmaninoff International Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Classical - Released by EuroArts Music International on 15 Mar 2024
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Shchedrin: Carmen Suite; Naughty Limericks; The Chimes
Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mikhail Pletnev - Concerti & Encores (Live)
Mikhail Pletnev, Verbier Festival Orchestra, Iván Fischer, Kent Nagano
Classical - Released by Verbier Festival Gold on 23 Sep 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Piotr Ilyitch Tchaikovski : Symphonie n°2 "Petite Russie", Op.17
Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Classical - Released by PENTATONE on 1 Jun 2012
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 10
Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Classical - Released by PENTATONE on 6 Jul 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 11, "The Year 1905"
Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Classical - Released by PENTATONE on 1 Jan 2006
24-Bit 96.0 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
Classical - Released by Claves Records on 11 Feb 2022
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
C.P.E. Bach : Sonatas & Rondos
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2001
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: Piano Sonata No. 2, Nocturnes, Barcarolle & Scherzo
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 28 Nov 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Prokofiev: Cinderella for 2 pianos / Ravel: Ma Mère l'Oye
Martha Argerich, Mikhail Pletnev
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 'Pathetique' - Marche Slave - The Seasons, Op.21 - The Sleeping Beuty
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sonates pour clavier
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 30 Sep 1995
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
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 16 Jan 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaïkovski : Symphonie n° 6 - Capriccio Italien
Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Classical - Released by PENTATONE on 1 Aug 2011
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Scarlatti: 15 Sonatas
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo