The Russian National Orchestra () was founded in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in 1990 by pianist and conductor Mikhail Pletnev. It was the first Russian orchestra to perform at the

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and in

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History

The RNO's first recording (1991) was Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, ''Pathétique,'' released on Virgin Classics. Since then, the orchestra has made over 80 recordings for

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

, Pentatone, Ondine, Warner Classics and other labels, and with conductors that include RNO Founder and Artistic Director Mikhail Pletnev, Vladimir Jurowski, Paavo Järvi, Kent Nagano, Carlo Ponti, José Serebrier and Vasily Petrenko. Notable releases include the complete Beethoven symphonies and piano concertos on

, 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 Beintus's ''Wolf Tracks'', conducted by Kent Nagano and narrated by Sophia Loren,

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

and

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

, was the winner of a 2004

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

, making the RNO the first Russian orchestra ever to win this 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 a Mandarin edition following in 2011. Narrators in concert versions of these works have included actors Danny Glover, Diana Douglas, Sean Dill and Debbie Allen, model Tatiana Sorokko, Singaporean violinist Min Lee, and BBC anchor Seva Novgorodsev. Touring annually, the RNO appears in the music capitals of Europe, Asia and the Americas, and is a frequent guest at festivals such as Edinburgh, the BBC Proms, Festival Napa Valley, an
Festival of the Arts BOCA.
In 2009 the RNO launched its own annual festival, the RNO Grand Festival, held each September to open the Moscow season. The tenth anniversary festival was held from September 10 to October 4, 2018. RNO concerts are often aired on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

, the

European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...

, and Russia's Kultura channel. In 2008, a panel of international critics assembled by Gramophone named the Russian National Orchestra as one of the world's top orchestras. The RNO maintains two outreach programs in the US and Russia
Cultural Allies
encompassing exchanges between artists in Russia and the West and the commissioning of new works; and th
Magic of Music
bringing RNO musicians to play for children in Moscow's orphanages, special facilities for the mentally and physically disabled, and bringing school children to concert halls in Moscow for RNO children's concerts. In the two decades since the Magic of Music program was created, it has expanded to the US with Russian National Orchestra musicians performing for school children while on tour. The Russian National Orchestra is a private institution supported by individuals, corporations and foundations in Russia and throughout the world. Organizations that support the RNO include th
Russian Arts FoundationPrince Michael of Kent Foundation
Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, Mikhail Prokhorov Foundation, and th
Trust for Mutual Understanding

Awards

Recordings

Since 1990, the RNO has released over 80 recordings on CD and SACD. These include:

References

External links

Official Website (Russian)RNO Radio Online
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1990 Russian symphony orchestras 1990 establishments in Russia Orchestras in Moscow