Mikhail Pletnev

Mikhail Pletnev occupies a commanding position in today’s Russian musical world, having attained the uppermost ranks both at the keyboard and on the podium. In addition he has produced a substantial body of compositions and maintains serious competence on the violin as a dedicated amateur.

Born in Archangelsk on April 14, 1957, during the Soviet era, Pletnev grew up in a household steeped in music: his father performed and instructed others on the bayan button accordion while his mother pursued the piano. After the family relocated to Kazan in Tatarstan, he commenced piano lessons with Julia Shaskin. At thirteen he transferred to Moscow’s Central Music School, where Evgeny Timakin guided his development; that same period brought his first major recognition when he captured the Grand Prix at the Jeunesses Musicales International in 1945, an achievement that inaugurated an extended sequence of competition successes. Two years later he entered the Moscow Conservatory to study with Yakov Flier, whose tutelage led directly to gold medals at the All-Union Competition in 1977 and the Tchaikovsky Competition in 1978.

Once Soviet travel restrictions began to ease during the 1980s, Pletnev expanded his concert activity into a fully international touring schedule. Observers frequently compared the clarity and refinement of his playing to that of Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli and, on occasion, Vladimir Horowitz. His first commercial recording appeared in 1988 on Virgin Classics, presenting Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in F sharp minor, Op. 1, together with the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43, accompanied by the Philharmonia Orchestra.

In the closing years of the decade Pletnev formed a connection with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that proved instrumental in establishing the Russian National Orchestra in 1990—the first privately supported ensemble in Russia since 1917. Serving as both conductor and artistic director, Pletnev guided the orchestra on American tours in 1992 and 1993. He joined the Deutsche Grammophon roster in 1994, leading the Russian National Orchestra in Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27. His programming spans Scarlatti through Rachmaninov, the composer with whom he remains most closely associated; he is also regarded as an outstanding exponent of Mozart and a persuasive interpreter of numerous Russian scores, though contemporary works appear only rarely on his programs.

From the early 1990s onward Pletnev reduced the frequency of his solo appearances while sustaining an active recording career in both capacities. He relinquished the chief conductorship of the Russian National Orchestra in 1999 yet has retained the role of artistic director and has continued to lead the ensemble on selected occasions, a situation that remained unchanged as of 2022. During the 2010s he and the orchestra recorded extensively for PentaTone Classics; in 2022 the conductor shifted to the Profil label, directing the Russian National Orchestra and violinist Ivan Pochekin in Tchaikovsky’s and Glazunov’s violin concertos. By then his discography already comprised well over one hundred entries.