Exclusive: Pletnev’s piano is stolen on the road
NewsItaly has a long history of brigandage and highway robbery. Some of it, apparently persists.
A truck with the Shigeru Kawai grand piano exclusively designed for Mikhail Pletnev was stolen while being delivered to Palermo for his upcoming concerts.
Police found the truck 1.5 kms away but the Shigeru Kawai had disappeared.
The instrument is one of the two hand-made for Pletnev in Hamamatsu, Japan. It follows the pianist all over the world – until now.
UPDATE: Police have notified Kawai that the piano has been found in a warehouse near Palermo, but there are doubts as to whether it is in playing condition. Piano experts are visiting the scene.
Nice use of the word brigandage.
This is terrible!!! He had many refinements done to the piano way beyond what the factory turns out. He must be sick about this!!! What is wrong with people????
What was the point of stealing the piano and dumping it, damaged, in a wharehouse?
It is like the recent incident in Dublin, where anti immigrant rioters broke into a bookshop but did not take any books.
Italian news said they probably eanted to steal the truck, and when realising the content (which is probably unsellable) they abandoned it. From the interview to Mr. Pletnev he didn’t seem bother about the playing conditions.
Mr Pletnëv could play a toy-piano, and it would sound magnificent!
To quote the late great Rostopovich “When will the world be rid of fools?”