Absolutely Scandalous.

Classical news topic for the day: Mikhail Pletnev, esteemed conductor, pianist, and composer, founder of the Russian National Orchestra, just got arrested in Thailand for child molestation.

Oops!

I guess I should say “alleged child molestation”, because he’s denying that he did it. His exact words are, "I would jump from the 26th floor [of a building] tomorrow, if I could believe those news reports.”

Methinks the lady should jump. I mean, Thailand? Any Westerner who hangs out in Thailand is automatically sketchy in my book. Yeah, they might just be enjoying the cheap hotels and cheaper liquor, getting full body massages from grown women, and basically having good, honest fun using someone else’s country as their playground. But there’s also a pretty good chance that they’re headed towards the special playground set aside for pedophiles.

It’s widely known that kids are abused in Thailand every day. The Health System Research Institute in Thailand estimates that 40% of all prostitutes in Thailand are children. (Wikipedia told me that.) And if you can afford to visit Thailand, you’re the prime demographic these pimps are marketing to.

Not only does Pletnev hang out in Thailand—he owns a house there. Enough said.

Now, I’m not saying he did it. I would never say that unless I had proof. I’m just saying, though – he probably did it.

This is pretty shocking to the classical music world because overall, we’re not accustomed to public scandals such as this. Nobody was shocked that Lindsay Lohan went to jail (although the picture of her crying in her lawyer's face cracked me up in a way that few strung-out stars have). Pop culture figures do things all the time. But classical musicians just don't attract paparazzi in the same way. You never hear of concert pianists going into rehab, or string quartets engaging in massive orgies at Aspen.

That’s not to say it doesn’t happen. I’ve seen and heard of many things that would make Lindsay look like a saint. (I, of course, remained journalistically aloof.) But, with a few exceptions, classical music figures just aren’t as widely covered as pop culture figures. We hide our wild (and even criminal) sides with a veneer of whiteness and nerdiness. And it's probably safe to say that people who aren’t interested in classical music aren’t interested in classical musicians' lives, either.

But if you screw up as big as Pletnev did, you're gonna get covered. And not in a good way.