Mikhail Pletnev: a total musician

PLETNEV - Live at Carnegie Hall: BACH/BUSONI - Chaconne in D minor; BEETHOVEN - Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Opus 111; CHOPIN - Four Scherzi - No. 1 in B minor, Opus 20; No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 31; No. 3 in C-

sharp minor, Opus 39; No. 4 in E major, Op. 54; RACHMANINOFF - Etude-tableau in E-flat major, Opus 39, No. 5; SCRIABIN - Poeme in F-sharp major, Opus 32 No. 1; D. SCARLATTI - Sonata in D minor, K. 9; MOSZKOWSKI - Etude de Birtuosite in F major, Opus 72, No. 6; BALAKIREV - Islamey (Oriental Fantasy). Mikhail Pletnev, piano. Recorded live, Carnegie Hall. Deutsche Grammophon 471 157; two CDs.

On Nov. 1, a relatively small number of music lovers were privileged to attend a particular piano recital at Carnegie Hall, New York City. I say a relatively small number, because many thousands of people in this country who treasure great piano music greatly played would have given a great deal to have been in attendance.

The pianist was Mikhail Pletnev, at 44, a superb total musician who is held in equal acclaim both as a great pianist and a great conductor. His reputation as a virtuoso pianist had, of course, preceded him through a series of recordings on Deutsche Grammophon that had garnered nothing but the very highest of accolades.

The New York Times said: "Pletnev links arms with such stalwarts of the Russian school as Horowitz, Sviatoslav Richter and Emil Gilels." And better than that - we`d feel safe in saying - a pianist simply cannot get. It seems strange that Pletnev - who had organized the Russian National Orchestra, took it on several tours of the United States and served as conductor of the ensemble for 10 years before relinquishing his post in 1999 - was only now making his Carnegie Hall debut as a piano soloist. But he would not agree that this is at all strange.

Pletnev is the total artist, the total musician. He acts when he believes he has prepared himself to act. And it is well to remember that he is not simply a great conductor, who also plays the piano quite well, or a great pianist, who also conducts quite well. Pletnev is a past master in both areas. The works on disc I are by Bach/Busoni, Beethoven and Chopin. And that concludes the regular program. Disk II includes the five encores the pianist most graciously gave in response to a thundering ovation: Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, D. Scarlatti, Moszkowski and Balakirev.

And if you`re wondering how one pianist could ever possibly have performed such a vast quantity of great music at one performance and perform all of it superbly, I have a possible answer: Perhaps they cloned him; he played the first half, his clone played the second. I don`t know how else it could have been done. The planned program alone would have taxed any pianist.

His opening work, the Bach/Busoni Chaconne in D minor, was transcribed by Busoni from Bach`s Partita for Solo Violin No. 2, BWV 1004. It is a virtuoso work and requires a virtuoso pianist to bring it to full accomplishment. The enthusiastic response of the audience was fully indicative of their appreciation for Pletnev`s masterly reading.

Beethoven`s Opus 111 is the last of his 32 piano concertos. It is in but two movements - he had also written others that were in two or three movements instead of the usual four - and one can hardly imagine a more appropriately structured work to conclude that master`s unexcelled contribution to the world`s great piano sonata literature.

Harmonically - C minor for the first movement, C major for the second - it constitutes the perfect farewell to Beethoven`s keyboard works. Pletnev plays it exactly as the composer indicated - Maestoso, con brio (majestic, dignified, with brilliancy) in the first movement; molto semplice e cantabile (very simple in a singing style) in the second.

Pletnev caresses this work. He never lets his brilliancy become loud or harsh; his second movement is played as lovely as you are ever likely to hear it. I marveled at his control at the conclusion of the first movement and the beginning of the second. The brilliancy of the work expressed in the minor key in the first movement has been spent and it concludes with lovely, soft chords. Just as lovely is the beginning of the second movement when the chords in the same key are played an octave lower. It is the control of the pianist that is so amazing.

At the work`s quiet ending, the applause of the audience once again exploded in appreciation of Pletnev`s playing of the sonata, playing that one may expect to hear only occasionally. No sooner does the applause come to a halt than the pianist bursts into the first of the four Chopin scherzi, the B minor, with a power and brilliancy that is breathtaking.

It is with the Chopin that we fully appreciate the fabulous technique of this great Russian artist. His velocity is phenomenal. And so it is with each scherzo. Pletnev makes this music his own. At the time he is playing, we cannot imagine it being played any other way. And, yet, with all of this power, at times thundering, nothing is ever overdone. You hear Pletnev play Chopin and you can easily say, "Yes, this is the way Chopin should be played."

Each of the encores seems to disclose yet another aspect of the pianist`s brilliance. And by the time he concludes his recital with Balakirev`s Islamey, one must believe that, not only the soloist, but also the members of the audience, must be near exhaustion.

We can hope that Pletnev`s recording contract with Deutsche Gramophone will soon enable us to hear recordings of some of the great piano concertos. Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, of course; that would seem natural. But I should also love to hear what he does with Beethoven and Brahms.

I give this recording my highest rating.

(c) Copley News Service

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Author: King Durkee