|
 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." In 2004 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. The orchestra is a frequent guest at major festivals, and since 1999 has performed an annual concert series in the US. Popular with radio audiences worldwide, RNO concerts are regularly aired by National Public Radio in the United States and 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 more than 30 recordings for Deutsche Grammophon and PentaTone Classics, with conductors that include RNO Founder and Artistic Director Mikhail Pletnev, Vladimir Jurowski, Mstislav Rostropovich, Kent Nagano, Alexander Vedernikov and Paavo Berglund.
The orchestra signed a new multi-disc agreement with PentaTone Classics in 2003. One of the first results of this collaboration – 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.
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 RNO Conductor Collegium, a group of internationally renowned conductors who share the podium leadership. Another RNO innovation is Cultural Allies, an ongoing program encompassing exchanges between artists in Russia and the west, and the commissioning of new works.
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 American Council of the RNO.
| 
