Restorations of much loved works invariably arouse controversy, as in the furor organized against the removal of grime from the Sistine Chapel frescoes between 1980 and 1994.
And yet if he is known today in this country, it is mostly as a name rather than as a painter of loved works.
The dazzling colours and dashing brushstrokes of his sunflowers, cornfields and cypress trees are among the most familiar and loved works in the history of art, fetching record-breaking sums in auction rooms.
With an introduction by Geoff Dyer and personal insights into how some of the most internationally known authors have crafted their best loved works, How to write fiction is a must-read for every aspiring fiction writer.
On the first half Mr. Pletnev played one of the best known and most loved works in the repertory, Schumann's C major Fantasy, as well as short selections from Schumann's Bunte Blätter.
The fits of madness that had plagued him in Arles returned, but he painted prolifically while he was there, producing some of the finest and best loved works of his short career.
