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Sergei Markov
Chief Executive, 1994-2006
Sergei Markov was born in Moscow in 1961 and attended the Moscow Institute of International Relations, earning a degree in International Economic Relations in 1983. He then joined the Ministry of Foreign Trade and subsequently entered the diplomatic service. It was in January 1993, while directing cultural affairs at the Russian Embassy in Mexico, that he first encountered the RNO. Of the orchestra's debut concert in Mexico City he later said, "The RNO's music was almost like celestial mechanics, where every instrument was in perfect orbit. I saw it as a sign of the times, symbolic of boundaries being redrawn and individualism becoming respected."
Markov left the diplomatic service in 1994 to accept appointment as the RNO's Chief Executive. Achievements under his leadership include establishment of the orchestra's innovative Conductor Collegium, development of a distinguished International Board of Trustees, modernization of management practices, launch of the Magic of Music, the RNO's fast-growing and diversified charitable and educational program for children, and the acquisition and renovation of a building to house the orchestra's rehearsal hall and administrative offices.
The RNO has attained an impressive international profile under Markov's management. Its recordings have received numerous honors, including a 2004 GRAMMY Award. This prestigious recognition was given to the Peter and the Wolf/Wolf Tracks recording, conducted by Kent Nagano with Mikhail Gorbachev, Sophia Loren and Bill Clinton narrating, and made the RNO Russia's first ever GRAMMY-winning orchestra, and Markov Russia's first GRAMMY-winning producer. Providing the English voiceover of Mikhail Gorbachev's remarks on this recording, Markov also frequently serves as narrator for performances of the RNO's Magic of Music family concerts.
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Sergei Markov's interview with the Las Vegas Review Journal, about the formation of the RNO