The PPM Mission: Collect, preserve, exhibit collections of keyboard instruments, research caliber books, historical recordings and ephemera related primarily to classical music, in particular keyboard instruments. It is impossible to overemphasize the educational aspect of the collection and what is done with them. These pianos and the music they create to illuminate the interconnectedness of all of humanity and the core consciousness of the universe. The PPM exists to educate, enrich and enthrall all ages the casual music lover and visitor, to the music professional and the music scholar.

How it all began
The collection was small 6 pianos of value, plus two other keyboards, about 200 books and 200 records, and some artwork. The museum was one of the projects of the Pleshakov Music Center, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation founded by Vladimir Pleshakov and Elena Winther in Hudson, NY, in October 2000. From November 2004 on, the museum was offered space and publicity facilities by Catskill Mountain Foundation. The small collection began to attract bus tours regularly, accounting for about 1,000 visitors per year. The pianos were also used for the Piano King of Instruments series .

Where we are now: The museum receives visitors, usually in groups. The collection has grown from 6 to 12 pianos, of which 10-12 are on active on display at any given time at the Hudson Valley Arts Center location in Hudson, NY, and 6-10 affiliated pianos in storage at the Catskill Mountain Foundation. The museum has just inherited some 30,000 records. About 22 tons of records, books, recording and playback equipment, 19th-century tools, art work and display furniture are currently in storage in Hunter, Jewett, Accord, Woodstock, Hudson, California and Arizona. Every month the museum is offered gifts for its collection pianos, organs, and LP's.

 Where we will be in the future: in 2010 PPM gained its N.Y State Museum Charter. The museum will be listed in rosters of international museums, and should be able to find new sources of major funding for personnel, acquisition, maintenance, insurance and operational costs. It will use publicity aggressively to enhance its position as a destination point for international travel, and become linked with educational institutions as a center for musicological research and for advanced piano study. It should have publications (audio, video, articles, books, and musical scores). It should have use of additional space for all these activities. It should greatly enhance its outreach programs in the form of concerts and master classes in other states and countries.

The Meaning of the Museum: Everything owned outright by the museum will be held in public trust, under the care of its trustees and the scrutiny of the New York State Museum Charter Office. The Pleshakovs have stumbled on an educational treasure. Their antique pianos speak the language of the composers who wrote for them. They encode the finest tremors of the human soul. They arouse the deepest emotions more directly than language can, and do so in a civilized, cultured, ethical way. They communicate and highlight timeless things relevant and important to the human condition, and do so in a memorable way. What the Pleshakovs learn from the museum, they teach to students, and demonstrate to visitors. The collection of keyboard instruments which spans more than 300 years of human endeavor, allied with over 30,000 books, records and items of research material, form in their totality a formidable educational treasure. Even more importantly, this treasure is open to all visitors through tours involving live music and words, and also through formal concerts and recordings. Music, one of the glories of Western civilization, comes alive in the museum and speaks directly to us, whether we are scholars or casual first-time visitors.

The Museum is being used as a base to help launch cutting edge music projects internationally, including new audio and video recordings, master classes and concerts at such sites as Carnegie Hall.
Help us preserve and use these treasures!
Vladimir Pleshakov and Elena Winther

Vladimir Pleshakov
Born in Shanghai China in 1934, to Russian émigré parents. He has lived in Asia, Australia, United States and Europe. His teachers were all from the Siloti school, Alexander Siloti being the cousin and one-time teacher of Rachmaninoff and himself a favorite student of Liszt. Vladimir holds degrees from the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music, the University of California (Berkeley) and a doctorate in music from Stanford University. His repertoire is wide-ranging, as is his sense of style. He is responsible for many world premiere recordings of unjustly neglected works from the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. He is also an eloquent and highly communicative recitalist.

Elena Winther
Born in California to a Danish father and an English mother. She is a product of the Lhevinne school and shares with her husband Vladimir Pleshakov some of the same pianistic heritage, namely the classic Russian tradition. She has performed as soloist with the San Francisco and Los Angeles symphony orchestras and is an expert in chamber music involving the piano.