Biography

The Russian National Orchestra (RNO) was founded in 1990 by pianist and conductor Mikhail Pletnev. The RNO regularly appears in the music capitals of Europe, Asia, and the Americas; is a frequent guest at festivals such as Edinburgh, the BBC Proms, and Festival Napa Valley; and presents the RNO Grand Festival each September to open the Moscow season. The orchestra made its first appearance in the San Francisco Symphony's Great Performers series in 1993.

RNO concerts are often aired on National Public Radio, the European Broadcasting Union, and Russia’s Kultura channel. The orchestra’s discography, launched with a 1991 recording of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, Pathétique, now numbers more than eighty recordings. Notable releases include the complete Beethoven symphonies and piano concertos on Deutsche Grammophon, Tchaikovsky’s six symphonies for Pentatone, and the RNO Shostakovich Project, also on Pentatone. The RNO’s recording of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf and Jean-Pascal Beintus's Wolf Tracks, conducted by Kent Nagano and narrated by Sophia Loren, Bill Clinton, and Mikhail Gorbachev, received a 2004 Grammy Award, making the RNO the first Russian orchestra to win the recording industry's highest honor. Their recording of Shostakovich Symphony No. 7, conducted by Paavo Järvi, was awarded the Diapason d’Or de l’Année 2015 as the year's best symphonic album, and was nominated for a 2016 Grammy Award.

The RNO is unique among the principal Russian ensembles as a private institution funded with the support of individuals, corporations, and foundations in Russia and throughout the world.

The Russian National Orchestra thanks the generous patrons and sponsors who helped make the 2019 United States Tour possible, including Peter Paul and Elena Sysovskaya, Ann and Gordon Getty, Barbara Roach, Marianne Wyman, the Mikhail Prokhorov Foundation, the Prince Michael of Kent Foundation, the Trust for Mutual Understanding, and the Friends of the RNO.

(March 2019)