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The Russian National Orchestra
has been in demand throughout the
music world ever since its 1990 Moscow
debut. The first Russian orchestra to
perform at the Vatican and in Israel, the
RNO maintains an active schedule of
touring and is a frequent guest at major
festivals.
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
The Russian National Orchestra has to count as a major miracle.
the orchestra
The RNO is a living symbol
of the best in Russian art.
Miami Herald
of Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique in history.
Since then, the RNO has made more than
30 recordings for Deutsche Grammophon
and PentaTone Classics, with conductors
that include Mikhail Pletnev, Mstislav
Rostropovich, Kent Nagano and
Alexander Vedernikov.
The orchestra signed a new multi-disc
agreement with PentaTone Classics in
2003. One of the first results of this col-
laboration – a recording of Prokofiev’s
Peter and the Wolf and Beintus’ Wolf Tracks,
conducted by Kent Nagano - was the
winner of a 2004 GRAMMY Award, making
the RNO the first Russian orchestra
ever to win the recording industry’s
highest honor.
Time Out New York
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The Russian National Orchestra is acclaimed internationally

as one of the most persuasive ambassadors
of Russia’s new age.
Washington Times

Unique among the principal Russian

ensembles, the RNO is independent of the
government and has developed its own
path-breaking structure. It is perhaps the
only orchestra to establish a Conductor
Collegium, a group of internationally
renowned conductors who share the
podium leadership.

Another innovation is Cultural Allies,

encompassing exchanges between artists in
Russia and the west and the commissioning
of new works. Prominent RNO partners in
Cultural Allies include Dave and Chris
Brubeck, Hélène Grimaud, Sophia Loren,
Wynton Marsalis, John Corigliano and
Michael Tilson Thomas.

The Russian National Orchestra is

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

I saw the greatest orchestra in the world play Friday night.

If you think that’s hyperbole, ask anyone who was in Yardley Hall...
The Russian National Orchestra is the Rolls-Royce of orchestras.
The Kansas City Star
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PHIL SAYER / GRAMOPHONE
the RNO that satisfies the appetite
Mikhail Pletnev is an artist whose
genius as pianist, conductor and
composer enchants and amazes
audiences around the globe. His
musicianship encompasses a dazzling
technical power and provocative
emotional range, and a searching
interpretation that fuses instinct with
intellect. At the keyboard and podium
alike, Pletnev is recognized as one of the
finest artists of our time.
Pletnev was Gold Medal and First Prize
winner of the 1978 Tchaikovsky
International Piano Competition when he
was only 21, a prize that earned him early
recognition worldwide. An invitation to
perform at the 1988 superpower summit
the founder
Pletnev evokes music with
and leaves you breathless.
Kölnische Rundschau, Köln
in Washington led to a friendship with
Mikhail Gorbachev – and the historic
opportunity to make music in artistic
freedom.
In 1990 Pletnev formed the first inde-
pendent orchestra in Russia’s history. The
risks of this step, even with Gorbachev’s
endorsement, were enormous and it was
Pletnev’s reputation and commitment
that made his long-held dream a reality.
Sharing his vision for a new model for the
performing arts, many of the country’s
finest musicians joined Pletnev in
launching the Russian National
Orchestra. Under his leadership, the RNO
achieved in a few short years a towering
stature among the world’s orchestras.
Pletnev describes the RNO as his greatest
joy and today serves as its Artistic
Director and head of the Conductor
Collegium.
As a pianist, Pletnev appears regularly in
the world’s music capitals as soloist and
recitalist. His recordings and performances
have proved him to be an outstanding
interpreter of an extensive repertoire.
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Of a 2001 concert the London Telegraph
remarked, “from Pletnev’s fingers and brain
come ideas that vitalise the music and
make it teem with freshness and wit.
[He] made the music positively leap for
joy.” The Times describes his playing as
“born of a prodigious virtuosity of magi-
nation…outrageous in its beauty.”
His album of Scarlatti’s Keyboard Sonatas
(Virgin/EMI) received a Gramophone
Award in 1996. BBC Music Magazine called
the recording “piano playing at its
greatest... this performance alone would
be enough to secure Pletnev a place
among the greatest pianists ever known.”
Pletnev’s recording of Rachmaninov and
Prokofiev Piano Concerti No. 3 (Deutsche
Grammophon) with the RNO and
Beauty were selected, along with his
performance of Tchaikovsky’s Second
Piano Concerto and The Seasons, for the
1998 anthology “Great Pianists of the 20th
Century” (Philips Classics).
The son of musician parents, Pletnev was
conducting and learning multiple
instruments as a small child and entered
the Moscow Conservatory as a teenager.
For Mikhail Pletnev, the artistic persona of
pianist-conductor-composer is indivisible.
He considers himself, simply, a musician.

SUSESCH BAYAT/DGG
conductor Mstislav Rostropovich received
a 2004 GRAMMY Award nomination.

As a composer, Pletnev’s works include

Classical Symphony, Triptych for Symphony
Orchestra, Fantasy on Kazakh Themes and
Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra. His
unrivalled transcriptions for piano of
Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite and Sleeping

Like everything else about how Pletnev runs this orchestra,

he takes nothing for granted... And also like everything else
about this remarkable organization, he makes it seem not just
new, but newly worthwhile.
Los Angeles Times
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WARNER MUSIC FINLAND

Since its formation in 2000, the RNO Conductor Kent Nagano
Collegium has been a fertile source of creativity and
innovation. Serving with Artistic Director Mikhail
Pletnev on the Collegium are:

Kent Nagano, member since 2000

Artistic director of several RNO commissioning
projects and recordings, Nagano is renowned for his
gifted interpretations of both the orchestral and
operatic repertoire. His recording of Wolf Tracks / Peter
and the Wolf with the RNO received a 2004 GRAMMY
Award. Nagano is Chief Conductor of the Deutsches
Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and Music Director of the Paavo Berglund
Los Angeles Opera and the Berkeley Symphony.
He will become Generalmusikdirektor of the Bayerische
Staatsoper and Music Director of the Montreal
Symphony Orchestra in 2006.

Paavo Berglund, member since 2002

Berglund, who made his debut with the RNO in 1997,
has a distinguished career that spans five decades.
Other leading orchestras with which he has appeared
include the Berlin Philharmonic, the London
Symphony, the Dresden Staatskapelle, the
St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the New York
Philharmonic and the Cleveland Orchestra. Berglund
has been Principal Conductor of the Finnish Radio
Symphony Orchestra, the Bournemouth Symphony,
the Helsinki Philharmonic, the Stockholm Philharmonic
and the Royal Danish Orchestra.

They played with such captivating beauty

that the audience let out an involuntary
sigh of pleasure at the end.
Evening Standard, London

the collegium
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Alexander Vedernikov Alexander Vedernikov, member since 2003

Vedernikov led the RNO on critically acclaimed tours of
Europe in 2003 and the United States in 2004.
Upcoming plans include a series of Super Audio CDs,
the first of which were released in 2003. Vedernikov is an
exclusive recording artist for PentaTone Classics and
Music Director and Chief Conductor of Moscow’s
Bolshoi Theatre.

Christian Gansch, member since 2003

Gansch made his debut with the RNO in 1998, in a
highly praised performance that led to a series of
Christian Gansch concerts with the orchestra. He has conducted
many leading orchestras including the Leipzig
Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Deutsches Symphonie-
Orchester Berlin, the City of Birmingham Symphony
Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.
From 1977 to 1981 he led the Vienna Chamber
Orchestra.

Vladimir Jurowski, member since 2003

A frequent guest to the world’s leading opera stages and
concert halls, Jurowski began his collaboration with the
RNO in 2002. Upcoming plans include a tour of the
Vladimir Jurowski United States with a one-week residency at Lincoln
Center, New York City, and a series of recordings for
PentaTone Classics. Jurowski is Music Director of the
Glyndebourne Festival Opera and Principal Guest
Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Information about all conductors working with the

RNO is available at www.rno.ru.

Again and again one is amazed by this marvelous orchestra that,

within a short period, has become one of the world’s best.
Pizzicato, Luxembourg
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as field trips to museums and perform-

ances. A highlight for participants is the
annual How I See Music exhibition held at
the Moscow Conservatory. Their paintings
and drawings are shown on the night of
an RNO concert and every entrant
receives a prize. The work of Magic
of Music’s young artists has been
reproduced on note cards and concert
posters, and appears on the cover and
booklet of the RNO’s GRAMMY-winning
Wolf Tracks CD.

The RNO’s strong commitment to arts

education is reflected in two other Magic
of Music programs. The Magic of Music
Choral Studio offers Moscow children free
training in music from professional
instructors. The Young Artist Initiative
supports the development of young
musicians, and provides performance
opportunities.
The Russian National Orchestra The Magic of Music also includes family
created the Magic of Music to help
concerts in Russia and during the RNO’s
children in Moscow orphanages and
international tours, and special events
facilities for the disabled. These poorly
that raise funds for youth charities.
financed institutions struggle to provide
even basic services and have no resources
for enriching exposure to the arts.
The RNO designed and sponsors a
program that brings the joy of creative
self-expression to children living under
challenging, difficult circumstances.

The Magic of Music serves youth in seven

Moscow orphanages and special needs
homes with on-site activities in art,
crafts, music, dance and poetry, as well

Artwork from the “How I See Music” exhibition.

The Russian National Orchestra is a fantastic music machine….

seamlessly textured, supremely balanced and astoundingly virtuosic.
The Herald, Glasgow

the magic
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Each section of the RNO is vigorous,

confident, wonderful.
Mainichi, Tokyo

The musicians of the Russian National Orchestra

are among the best in Russia today. This singularity
is all the more evident when they come together as
chamber musicians in one of the RNO’s many
ensembles. Several are profiled here.
RNO String Quartet
The RNO String Quartet is recognized for its
virtuosic performances of the quartet literature
of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and
Tchaikovsky, as well as of contemporary
composers. It is also praised for performing
rarely heard works, including the chamber music
of Sergei Taneyev. The RNO String Quartet
appears at festivals and chamber series in
Russia, Europe and the United States.

The RNO Wind Quintet with

the Chris Brubeck Quartet

RNO Wind Quintet

The Quintet is known for its unique artistic
vision and musical innovation. With a
repertoire ranging from Bach to Brubeck, the
ensemble is equally at home with established
repertoire and new music. The RNO Wind
Quintet toured North America in 2004,
performing with soloist and composer Chris
Brubeck, and is developing a cycle of
RNOboe+Strings
works written by its resident composer,
Andrey Rubtsov. RNOboe+Strings
RNOboe+Strings was founded by oboist
Vitaly Nazarov in 2003, bringing together
several young musicians of the orchestra in
RNO Double Bass Ensemble an ensemble full of innovation and energy.
These superb artists comprise a visually stunning The group champions new music and musical
ensemble with a vibrant and exciting sound. experimentation, as well as traditional works
Their transcriptions of popular classical and written for oboe and strings.
modern works delight audiences in Russia,
Europe and America. New pieces commissioned
for the RNO Double Bass Ensemble include
Adagio by Mikhail Pletnev, and Who’s on First?
by American composer David Jaffe.

the ensembles
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Tchaikovsky Rachmaninov Tchaikovsky Prokofiev

Symphony No. 6
Pathétique
Virgin Classics
“It takes a pretty special
Pathétique to make a London
critic sit up these days, but
special is the word here...
There's poetry, subtlety,
mood-painting that is rich but
never over-ripe and – yes –
dignity...”
The Observer, London
“...an awe-inspiring experi-
ence. Should human beings
be able to play like this?”
Gramophone
Listed by Gramophone as
the best recording of
Pathétique in history.
Symphony No. 2
Deutsche Grammophon
“...superbly disciplined,
faultlessly played and
breathtakingly beautiful –
this has no, and may never
have, any serious rivals.”
Classic CD
“Mikhail Pletnev's
achievement is to make us
hear the music afresh. ...
The extraordinary delicacy of
the strings [is] a miracle of
control, ... the development is
as passionate and driven as
anyone could wish... This is
great music-making.”
Gramophone
The Sleeping Beauty Cinderella
Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon
“...a brilliantly high-flying “This is quite simply the best
account... an elegantly played, most atmospheric and
virtuoso performance that affecting Cinderella we have
grows in stature on repeated ever had. This is one of the
listening. ... The Act III best records, not only of the
variations quite take the year, but of the 1990s!”
breath away.” Gramophone
BBC Music Magazine
“This is an outstanding
“The orchestra plays with release. ... The orchestral
considerable expression, playing is superb. ...
precision, rhythmic vitality, Strongly recommended. “
and dynamic range...” Gramophone Good CD Guide
Fanfare
“... try the last ten minutes of
Act 2 ... and ask yourself if
you have ever heard it as
atmospherically shaded...
a scene whose potential I
cannot recall having been as
fully realized as it is here.”
Gramophone

The Russian National Orchestra has made over forty recordings

with Deutsche Grammophon, PentaTone Classics, Virgin Classics and
other labels. For the complete discography, please visit: www.rno.ru

the recordings
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Getty / Prokofiev
Joan and the Bells
Romeo and Juliet
PentaTone Classics
“...a distinctive and musically
appealing version of the Joan
of Arc story... dramatically
assured, structurally sound,
and likable without being
obvious... eminently recom-
mendable.”
Opera News
“...skillfully written,...
beautifully sung, ...
magnificently recorded.”
International Record Review
“A powerful work given a
refreshingly unpretentious
performance.”
Gramophone
“...well written for the voices,
ably orchestrated, thematical-
ly coherent, dramatically per-
suasive [with] shimmering
orchestration and vocal lines
that are actually singable.”
Fanfare
Mozart / Beethoven
Clarinet Concertos
Deutsche Grammophon
“This is as masterful a reading
as there is in the catalogue...
It is a reading not just elegant
but powerful, too, as well as
deeply poetic... The playing of
the Russian National
Orchestra under Pletnev is
refined and elegant to match.”
Gramophone
“...the best modern instrument
recording that I have heard.”
allaboutjazz.com
“This is in every respect a
compelling reading of what we
have always known
as the Beethoven Violin
Concerto, doing full justice to
the lyrical, dramatic, contem-
plative, and brilliant aspects
of the music... a most
attractive coupling with as
good a version of Mozart's
Clarinet Concerto as
I have heard... I do not think
you could do better than
invest in this stimulating and
delightful disc.”
Fanfare
Selected by
Gramophone
as best of the
Mozart Concerto
recordings.
...easily the greatest Russian orchestra of today.
Prokofiev / Beintus
Peter and the Wolf
Wolf Tracks
PentaTone Classics
“Everything is lavishly colorful
and fast-paced... [This] is a
first-class Peter in a crowded
field.”
American Record Guide
“Sophia Loren's reading of the
Prokofiev is delightful... [The]
recording is outstanding in its
clarity and impact... It's an
attractive, unusual CD, for
a good cause.”
Classical CD Review
“The surprise performance
comes from Clinton. His
famously pock-marked voice
is strangely alluring. He
sounds sincere and avuncular,
and acts with a fair amount of
ease... Sophia Loren can do no
wrong in her take on the
Prokofiev... She is delicately
sexy in the part. She doesn't so
much read the text as purr it.”
Philadelphia Inquirer
“I would recommend this
Peter and the Wolf as one of the
better ones in the catalog and
surely the best recorded.”
Soundstage
“The Russian National
Orchestra and Kent Nagano
play like angels.”
The London Times
Winner, 2004
GRAMMY Award
Prokofiev / Rachmaninov
Piano Concertos No. 3
Deutsche Grammophon
“Two of today's greatest
Russian musicians come
together on home turf in two
monumental concertos. The
results are breathtaking,
replete with muscle and
magic... Go and buy this
immediately.”
Classic FM magazine
“...by far the freshest available
accounts of these familiar
concertos, enlivening accept-
ed norms of tempo, phrasing
and balance by dint of sheer
musical insight.”
Time Out New York
“The clarity and precision of
[Pletnev's] playing are
startling....”
San Francisco Chronicle
“These are personal, richly
characterized performances
unlike any others, captured in
wonderful sound, and should
not be missed... Rarely do you
hear the orchestra and
piano so together... simply
jaw-dropping....”
Classics Today
Nominated for 2004
GRAMMY Award
The Journal, Newcastle
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...as close to perfect as one could hope for.
Classics Today
Europe
International Tours & Projects
Avda de Espana 266
Elviria, Marbella 29600
Spain
www.rno.ru Tel: (+34) 610 926262
Fax: (+34) 95 283 6435
Email: international@rno.ru
Russia Media and Sponsorship Programs
Russian National Orchestra Brass Hat Marketing/TV & Media Ltd.
Orchestrion 26 Throgmorton Street
Garibaldi, 19 London EC2N 2AN
Moscow, Russia, 117335 Tel: (+44) (0) 207065 5660
Tel/Fax: (+7) 095-504-0781 - 82 Fax (+44) (0) 207065 5677
Email: info@rno.ru Email: uk@russianarts.org
United States
Russian Arts Foundation
1333 N. California Blvd., Suite 190
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
Tel: (+1) 925-943-2248 • Fax: (+1) 925-943-1164
Email: us@russianarts.org
American Council of the RNO
2105 12th Place NW
Washington, DC 20009
Tel: (+1) 202-966-7835
Email: council@russianarts.org
RAF Membership and Corporate Events
PO Box 248 • Montpelier, VT 05601
Tel: (+1) 802-223-8444 • Fax: (+1) 802-223-6105
Email: members@russianarts.org
US Tour Representation
ICM Artists, Ltd.
40 West 57th Street • New York, NY 10019
Tel (+1) 212-556-6867 • Fax (+1) 212-556-5677
www.icmartists.com