Baku, March 28, AZERTAC
The Grammy Award winner, notable pianist Mikhail Pletnev will perform in Baku, at the Heydar Aliyev Center on May 16.
The Azerbaijan State Symphony Orchestra named after Uzeyir Hajibeyli, to be conducted by Honoured Artist of Azerbaijan Fuad Ibrahimov, will share the stage of the concert which will consist of two parts. The evening will feature works by Sergei Rachmaninoff, whose 150th anniversary is celebrated this year all over the world.
The brilliant pianist and conductor Mikhail Pletnev, winner of the 1978 Tchaikovsky Piano Competition, is not only one of the best representatives of the Russian piano tradition, but is also a stunning and idiosyncratic interpreter of the standard repertoire. He is considered one of the greatest pianists of our time.
With famous orchestras from Europe and America, the musician has performed solo concerts in different countries. Mikhail Pletnev is also among the musicians offering the world's best interpretations of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's works.
In 1980, Pletnev made his debut as a conductor. In 1990, the pianist established the first independent orchestra in the history of Russia, the Russian National Orchestra, which, under the direction of Pletnev, entered the list of the most prestigious musical groups in the world.
His recordings and live performances have proved him to be an outstanding interpreter of an extensive repertoire. Pletnev’s recordings have earned numerous prizes, including a 2005 Grammy Award for the CD of his own arrangement, for two pianos, of Prokofiev’s Cinderella, recorded with Martha Argerich and Pletnev at the keyboards. He received Grammy nominations for a CD of Schumann Symphonic Etudes (2004) and for his recording of Rachmaninov and Prokofiev Piano Concertos No. 3 with the RNO and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich (2003). His album of Scarlatti’s Keyboard Sonatas (Virgin/EMI) received a Gramophone Award in 1996. In 2007 he recorded all of Beethoven’s piano concertos with Deutsche Grammophon, and the recording of concertos 2 and 4 was named “The Best Concerto Recording of 2007” by the Tokyo Record Academy.