Conductor Mikhail Pletnev collapsed on stage during a Tokyo concert on Feb. 15, halting the performance midway through a Tchaikovsky symphony.
The 69-year-old maestro was leading the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra through the second movement of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 at Bunkamura Orchard Hall when he fell ill, hankyung.com reported. An audience member who is a doctor rushed onto the stage to examine the Russian pianist and conductor.
Pletnev attempted to resume conducting before staff members assisted him to the dressing room for medical treatment and observation, music critic Norman Lebrecht reported on his site Slipped Disc.
Concertgoers flooded social media with get-well messages for the maestro as the performance was canceled. The Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra’s office said that no decision had been made yet regarding a scheduled concert the following day at Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, hankyung.com reported.
Pletnev Plans to Conduct the Scheduled Concert
Pletnev’s management issued a statement via Instagram at 10:15 p.m. on Feb. 15 confirming his health had improved and that he would return to the podium.
“We would like to inform the audience, colleagues, and acquaintances that Pletnev is currently in good health and plans to conduct the concert with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra as scheduled on the 16th,” his management stated, according to hankyung.com. The statement did not disclose the exact cause of the collapse.
Concert History
Born in Arkhangelsk, Russia, in 1957, Pletnev won the piano division of the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1978. He founded the Russian National Orchestra in 1990 with the backing of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev as the country’s first independent orchestra.
He left that ensemble following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine and established the Rachmaninoff International Orchestra, currently residing in Switzerland. Pletnev has maintained a strong connection with audiences through frequent tours, including a 2012 collaboration with pianist Seong-Jin Cho and performances in Seoul conducting the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra.
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