New age of Russian pianism

(Photo: Natalya Loginova )

The idea of ​​the festival "New Age of Russian Pianism", organized by Igor Belyaev's production agency "Firebird" and the Philip Morris company, was to present to the public the younger generation of Russian pianists who can prove that our piano school is still strong. The project was a success: from November 1999 to April 2000, solo concerts of Sergei Basukinsky, Fyodor Amirov, Alexander Gindin, Alexander Melnikov, Denis Matsuev, Nikolai Lugansky and Vadim Rudenko were held in Moscow, Paris and Versailles. They demonstrated brilliant training, but, unfortunately, there were no interesting interpretations. In most cases, the festival participants tried to play victoriously and powerfully, without setting themselves stylistic goals, but only emphasizing the contrast of thunderous chords and fast passages. Because of this, the diverse young musicians looked like heirs to pretentious Soviet traditions.

And truly new piano art was demonstrated to the public by the festival’s guest of honor, Mikhail Pletnev, who played Bach’s Partita #6, Beethoven’s Sonata #32 and Chopin’s four scherzos at the final concert. Like a chronicler who cares not about his own style, but about the accuracy of recording events, Pletnev completely subordinated his virtuosity to the scrupulous transmission of the nuances of the author's intention. But at the same time, the pianist created an unusual, voluminous sound space that gives rise to unexpected musical discoveries. Throughout each piece, it seemed that it was composed of the voices of several instruments located far apart from each other. And impeccably integral compositions arise as a result of masterfully performed improvisations by Pletnev.