Mikhail Pletnev performs with the leading orchestras and conductors. In 1989, he founded the Russian National Orchestra (RNO) as the first privately financed orchestra in his homeland. In September 2022, Pletnev and his orchestra broke up. Pletnev then founded a new, free orchestra in Bratislava, bringing together musicians from Russia and around the world: the Rachmaninoff International Orchestra. By choosing Rachmaninoff as the orchestra's namesake, Pletnev also commemorates one of the greatest Russian composers of the 20th century, who was forced to leave his homeland due to the Soviet dictatorship. Pletnev records for the prestigious Deutsche Grammophon label, and his recordings have won numerous awards. Pletnev's compositions are performed by renowned performers and acclaimed by press and public. His piano transcriptions of the ballet suites to "Sleeping Beauty" and "Nutcracker" (Peter I. Tchaikovsky) have long been part of the repertoire of international master pianists. Mikhail Pletnev was born in 1957 in Arkhangelsk in northern Russia and studied at the Moscow Conservatory. Winning First Prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1978 marked the beginning of his international career as a soloist.
