A WORLD famous conductor and pianist has pulled out of performances both at both the BBC Proms series of summer concerts in London and the Edinburgh Festival after being accused in Thailand of child molestation.
Mikhail Pletnev (53), the founder and artistic director of the Russian National Orchestra (RNO), was charged last month with molesting a 14-year-old boy after police raided the musician’s home in Thailand and found incriminating photographs.
Pletnev’s spokesman announced yesterday that he would not be conducting the RNO concerts in London on August 18th and Edinburgh on August 19th, “in order to have the necessary time to deal with the accusations against him”.
Pletnev said in a statement: “I do not wish to overshadow the wonderful music-making of the RNO and their tour in the UK with the current accusations surrounding my person. I will not comment on the ongoing investigation, but I hope the matter will be resolved speedily and it will be clear that I am innocent of the accusations against me. I look forward to returning to the UK with my orchestra soon.” Andrey Boreyko, a former member of the RNO Conductor Collegium, will replace Pletnev for both concerts.
The Proms programme – which includes Beethoven's CoriolanOverture, Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganiniand Tchaikovsky's Suite No 3 in G major– remains unchanged.
An Edinburgh international festival spokeswoman said Boreyko was one of the most exciting and dynamic conductors to emerge from eastern Europe in recent years.
“Andrey has worked with the Russian National Orchestra on a number of occasions to great acclaim and we look forward to welcoming him to the festival for the first time.”
Pletnev was arrested in July at a badminton club in the resort of Pattaya.Police searched one of his homes there, confiscating material in connection with an investigation into a paedophilia ring.
Prosecutors told a court in Pattaya that the search yielded several “compromising” photographs of Pletnev with underage boys.
Pletnev, a Grammy winner who studied at the Moscow Conservatory and founded the RNO as post-Soviet Russia’s first private orchestra in 1990, was released on bail of €7,000. He denied the charge, saying there had been a “misunderstanding”. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
– (Guardian service)