15 Years of Achievement
Russian National Orchestra Timeline
1990 RNO founded in Moscow during the peak of glasnost. Top musicians from throughout the country join Mikhail Pletnev in Russia's first independent orchestra. Debut concert leads to offer to record Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony for Virgin Classics.
1991 Debut CD wows critics. Gramophone calls it "awe-inspiring. Should human beings be able to play like this?" and lists it as best Pathétique recording in history. RNO becomes first Russian orchestra to perform at the Vatican and to tour Israel.
1992 RNO debuts in music capitals around the world. Russian Arts Foundation is formed in the US to foster international understanding, and selects the RNO as its initial project.
1993 First US tour brings the RNO to Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center and 15 other venues. Contract signed with Deutsche Grammophon, a partnership that will produce a series of award-winning recordings.
1994 International Board formed in Moscow. First Deutsche Grammophon release — of Rachmaninov's Second Symphony. Classic CD says this recording "has no, and may never have any, serious rivals."
1995 Fifth Anniversary celebrated with a world tour and announcement of Conductor Collegium to guide the orchestra's artistic initiatives. Members of the Collegium, led by Mikhail Pletnev, are Kent Nagano, Paavo Berglund, Vladimir Jurowski, Christian Gansch and Alexander Vedernikov.
1996 RNO opens the Summer Olympics Arts Festival in Atlanta. Patrons travel to Russia for first annual donor trip.
1997 Dave Brubeck performs with the orchestra as part of its Cultural Allies initiative. Newly launched Magic of Music brings the arts into Russia's orphanages and children's hospitals, and supports programs serving youth worldwide.
1998 RNO breaks box office record in one-week residency at Sydney Opera House. Patrons join the orchestra on a Volga River cruise, now an annual event.
1999 Grove Street Winery Summer Concert Series launched with performances at Hollywood Bowl and other US venues. Wynton Marsalis begins multi-year collaboration as part of Cultural Allies. First Imagine benefit auction is held to raise funds for children's programs in the US and internationally.
2000 Musician Fund created to secure the RNO as Russia's leading orchestra. Lord Jacob Rothschild, Gordon Getty and others host contributors on a special trip to London and Madrid.
2001 10th anniversary celebrated with a world tour. RNO lauded in press as "breathtakingly beautiful", "a major miracle" and "as close to perfect as one could hope for."
2002 Paris debut marked by events hosted by the US Ambassador and, at Château Mouton, by Baroness Philippine de Rothschild. Orchestra signs with PentaTone Classics for a series of Super Audio CDs.
2003 Two Grammy nominations: for a disc of piano concertos (Mstislav Rostropovich, conductor; Mikhail Pletnev, soloist) and for Peter and the Wolf/Wolf Tracks (Kent Nagano, conductor; Sophia Loren, Bill Clinton and Mikhail Gorbachev, narrators).
2004 RNO becomes first Russian orchestra to win a Grammy, for Peter and the Wolf/Wolf Tracks. Russian National Orchestra Trust launched to support programs in the United Kingdom and Europe, and H.R.H. Prince Michael of Kent becomes Royal Patron. Getty Composer Chair for the commissioning and performance of new works announced at Windsor Castle gala. Imagine auction at Chalk Hill Estate and Winery in Sonoma nets a record $1 million. Magic of Music expands to Russian provinces and Asia.
2005 Imagine raises $2.5 million, catapulting it to the top tier of benefit auctions. Russian Wind Quintet takes top honors at the prestigious Osaka International Chamber Music Competition. Russian Violin Concertos disc with soloist Julia Fischer receives the Echo Klassik Award. Antonio Banderas records Spanish version of Wolf Tracks. Mikhail Pletnev is appointed Principal Conductor, and Vladimir Jurowski Principal Guest Conductor, effective 2006/07. Sophia Loren becomes Honorary Chairman of the 15th Anniversary celebration.