Russian National Orchestra
The first independent orchestra in Russia since Czarist days, the Russian National Orchestra has maintained a high international profile. In 2004, it became the first Russian orchestra to win a Grammy award.
The Russian National Orchestra was founded in 1990 during the period of perestroika or openness that preceded the fall of the Soviet Union. All other orchestras in the country since the advent of Communism had been state-owned. The orchestra's founder was pianist and conductor Mikhail Pletnev, who conducted the group in its early years. He offered players an atmosphere of artistic freedom and an actual financial stake in the orchestra, and top players began to flock to the group from state ensembles. The orchestra was successful from the beginning, and it attracted financial support from corporations and foundations both within and outside Russia. Violinist and conductor Vladimir Spivakov became the group's music director in 1999; Pletnev has remained active with the orchestra, and it has a large roster of guest conductors. The Russian National Orchestra often appears at its home base, the Zaryadye Concert Hall in Moscow, but it is notable for the depth and frequency of its international touring. The orchestra was the first Russian group to appear at the Vatican, and it toured Israel. The orchestra has made multiple tours of Europe, Asia, and the Americas, and it has appeared at the BBC Proms in London and other major festivals. It has been heard on broadcasts on both Russia's Kultura program and National Public Radio in the U.S. The Russian National Orchestra maintains two foundations, Cultural Allies sponsors exchanges between Russia and the U.S., while Magic of Music organizes concerts in Russian orphanages.
The Russian National Orchestra is especially notable for its recording career, which began just a year after the group's founding in 1991, with a critically acclaimed performance of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 ("Pathétique"). The orchestra signed with the Deutsche Grammophon label in 1993 and remained there until 2009, issuing mostly, but not exclusively, Russian music; Pletnev led the orchestra in a complete cycle of Beethoven symphonies released in 2007. In the 2010s, the orchestra has recorded mostly for PentaTone Classics, issuing a half-dozen albums or more in several years. A 2003 recording of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf featured speaking parts from former U.S. president Bill Clinton and former Soviet prime minister Mikhail Gorbachev; the record earned a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for Children and spawned several remakes in other countries. As of 2020, when the orchestra released a recording of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 13 ("Babi Yar") under conductor Kirill Karabits, the orchestra's recording catalog comprised well over 50 albums.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto & Piano Concerto No. 1
Christian Tetzlaff, Nicolai Lugansky, Russian National Orchestra, Kent Nagano
Concertos - Released by PENTATONE on 1 Sep 2003
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Manfred Symphony
Norbert Gembaczka, Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Classical - Released by PENTATONE on 1 Mar 2014
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Arutiunian, Weinberg & Shostakovich: Trumpet Concertos
Paul Merkelo, Jae-Hyuck Cho, Russian National Orchestra, Hans Graf
Classical - Released by Naxos on 14 Oct 2022
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky Selections
Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Classical - Released by PENTATONE on 1 Apr 2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 8
Russian National Orchestra, Paavo Berglund
Classical - Released by PentaTone on 1 Jan 2006
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf, Op. 67 - Beintus: Wolf Tracks
Mikhail Gorbachev, Sophia Loren, Bill Clinton, Sergei Markov, Russian National Orchestra, Kent Nagano
Classical - Released by PentaTone on 1 Jan 2003
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninov: The Bells / Taneyev: John of Damascus
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Complete Symphonies
Mikhail Pletnev, Russian National Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by PENTATONE on 11 Jan 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Scriabin: Symphony No. 1 & The Poem of Ecstasy
Mikhail Pletnev, Russian National Orchestra
Symphonies - Released by PENTATONE on 1 Jul 2015
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ
Russian National Orchestra, Stephan Genz, Alya Vodovozova, Hilarion Alfeyev
Classical - Released by PentaTone on 21 Jul 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV, N.A.: Snow Maiden Suite (The) / Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh / Night on Mount Triglav (Pletnev)
Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Classical - Released by PENTATONE on 1 Feb 2010
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No.3 / Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No.3
Mikhail Pletnev, Russian National Orchestra, Mstislav Rostropovich
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
PROKOFIEV, S.: Romeo and Juliet Suite No. 1 / KHACHATURIAN, A.I.: Spartacus / SHOSTAKOVICH, D.: The Bolt (Russian Ballet Suites) (Vedernikov)
Russian National Orchestra, Alexander Vedernikov
Classical - Released by PentaTone on 1 Jan 2004
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G Major / Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 5 / Schlime: 3 Improvisations
Francesco Tristano Schlimé, Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Concertos - Released by PENTATONE on 1 Mar 2006
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade - Capriccio espagnol - Neapolitan Song
Tatiana Porshneva, Alexei Bruni, Russian National Orchestra, Carlo Ponti
Classical - Released by PentaTone on 2 Jun 2011
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
PROKOFIEV: Symphony No. 5 / Ode to the End of the War
Russian National Orchestra, Vladimir Jurowski
Classical - Released by PentaTone on 1 Jan 2007
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphonic Poems incl. 1812, Fatum, The Voyevoda, Hamlet, Francesca da Rimini; Manfred Symphony
Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 1; The Isle of Dead
Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Essentials: Ballet
Classical - Released by Unclassified on 9 Sep 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
In Memoriam Yakov Kreizberg
Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest, Vadim Tsibulevsky, Julia Fischer, Wiener Symphoniker, Yakov Kreizberg, Russian National Orchestra
Classical - Released by PentaTone on 6 Mar 2012
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Enchanted Kingdom
Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo