Mikhail Pletnev: I do not listen to other musicians
mainFrom a rare new interview with the Russian pianist and conductor:
Do you read reviews of your concerts?
– No.
Why do you prefer to sit in a chair at the piano and not on a stool?
– Back ache. If I get tired – I can lean back and relax a bit.
Do you go to concerts of other artists? If so, which ones?
– I do not go.
– Did you watch the last Tchaikovsky Competition?
– No.
Full interview here (in Russian).
Hope readers of Russian can let us non-Russian readers in on what gives. I hope I’m wrong, but the English-language promo or trailer here does not appear promising for “revelations”. Schnabel always used a chair, as did Myra Hess and, no doubt, others.
Next to nothing gives. To say he is gnomic in his replies is an understatement.
Glen Gould, of course, a small chair.
A very fine musician, but a charmer he is not and has never been.
Not much of a conversationalist then! But who cares? His Scarlatti is sublime.
The last question is: “Can you name one or two scores that you would take to a desert island?”. His answer: “To a desert island I would rather take some fishing equipment and maybe a rifle too. Scores would not be very useful there.”. A barrel of laughs.
He’s right. Did no one point this out to Roy Plomley ?
Fortunately for the rest of humanity, some people are simply immune to common sense.
Speaks small with words and talks volumes with music notes.