Mikhail Pletnev

Distinctive classical pianist Mikhail Pletnev claimed worldwide attention when he took first place at the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in Moscow when he was 21-years-old. His global career stalled when cultural relations with the Soviet Union were curtailed during that nation's war in Afghanistan but he toured the Soviet territories, released recordings and made up for lost time in the 1990s with many appearances in the west.

Born the son of musicians in Archangel in the north of Russia, Pletnev studied at the Moscow Conservatory where he later taught. Following his celebrated competition win, he made his debut in America in 1979 and played in major cities from London to Tokyo winning applause for his performances of works by composers for the piano. Travel restrictions then prevented him from performing for several years in his homeland, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, or East Germany. With the support of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, in 1990 he founded the Russian National Orchestra, the first in that country to be funded privately. The orchestra's first recording, of Tchaikovsky's 'Pathetique' won high praise from critics, and subsequent recordings included Tchaikovsky's 'Sixth Symphony' and 'Marche Slave', Rachmaninov's Second and Third Symphonies and works by mostly Russian composers plus Chopin, Liszt, and Scarlatti.