Russian National Orchestra

The Russian National Orchestra has been in demand throughout the music world ever since its 1990 Moscow premiere. Of the orchestra's 1996 debut at the BBC Proms in London, the Evening Standard wrote, "They played with such captivating beauty that the audience gave an involuntary sigh of pleasure." More recently, they were described as "a living symbol of the best in Russian art" (Miami Herald) and "as close to perfect as one could hope for" (Trinity Mirror).

The first Russian orchestra to perform at the Vatican and in Israel, the RNO maintains an active international tour schedule, appearing in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Popular with radio audiences worldwide, RNO concerts are regularly aired by National Public Radio in the United States and by the European Broadcasting Union.

Gramophone magazine called the first RNO CD (1991) "an awe-inspiring experience; should human beings be able to play like this?" and listed it as the best recording of Tchaikovsky's Pathétique in history. Since then, the orchestra has made over 50 recordings for Deutsche Grammophon and PentaTone Classics, with conductors that include RNO Founder and Artistic Director Mikhail Pletnev, Principal Guest Conductor Vladimir Jurowski, Kent Nagano, Alexander Vedernikov and Paavo Berglund.

The RNO’s recording of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf and Beintus's Wolf Tracks, conducted by Kent Nagano and narrated by Sophia Loren, Bill Clinton and Mikhail Gorbachev, was the winner of a 2004 Grammy Award, making the RNO the first Russian orchestra ever to win the recording industry's highest honor. A Spanish language version narrated by Antonio Banderas was released in 2007, following a Russian version narrated by actors Oleg Tabakov and Sergei Bezrukov, with Mandarin and other editions to follow.

The orchestra’s ongoing Shostakovich cycle on PentaTone Classics is being widely acclaimed as “the most exciting cycle of the Shostakovich symphonies to be put down on disc, and easily the best recorded.” (SACD.net)

Unique among the principal Russian ensembles, the RNO is independent of the government and has developed its own path-breaking structure. Artistic policy is shaped and guided by the RNO Conductor Collegium, a group of internationally renowned conductors led by Artistic Director Mikhail Pletnev. Another RNO innovation is Cultural Allies, an ongoing program encompassing exchanges between artists in Russia and the West, and the commissioning of new works.

A frequent guest at major festivals, the RNO is the founding orchestra of the Festival del Sole in the Napa Valley, Festival of the Arts BOCA in Florida, and the Singapore Sun Festival, and is resident orchestra of the Tuscan Sun Festival in Cortona, Italy.

The Russian National Orchestra is supported by private funding and is governed by a distinguished multinational board of trustees. Affiliated organizations include the RNO New York Council, the Russian National Orchestra Trust (UK), the Russian Arts Foundation and American Council of the RNO.

External links

Official Website (English)