RNO Summary Press Acclaim
“...an awe-inspiring experience. Should human beings be able to play like this?”
“I saw the greatest orchestra in the world play Friday night. If you think that's hyperbole, ask anyone who was in Yardley Hall that night. The Russian National Orchestra is the Rolls-Royce of orchestras, no ordinary ensemble.”
“The Russian National Orchestra's performances [are] as close to perfect as one could hope for.”
“The RNO's amazing performance of [Shostakovich's Eleventh Symphony], in its restraint, incredibly sustained atmosphere and gripping momentum [was] pure instrumental drama, rivetingly intense, terrifying in the ferocity of its volcanic moments, and delivered in an astoundingly balanced and coherent interpretation by an orchestra playing out of its skin. What a night for Russian music.”
“They played with such captivating beauty that the audience let out an involuntary sigh of pleasure at the end.”
“This orchestra’s sound is remarkably trim and focused, with sharp-edged, virtuosic brass playing as one of its hallmarks but also a polished string sound and agile woodwind work… The orchestral playing was unimpeachable in the Tchaikovsky and better than that — virtuosic, dark-hued and almost opulent — in Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5, which closed the concert.”
“Russia has no shortage of great orchestras and conductors, but the Russian National Orchestra occupies a unique place. Instead of a long tradition, it has brilliance on its side.”
“In a modern classical world, rife with reports of under-funded and dying ensembles, curtailed schedules and shrinking audiences, the foundation and continued growth of [the Russian National Orchestra] seems not only
miraculous; it just may be the most important cultural story of our time.”
“The RNO played with a power, beauty and finesse currently unmatched by any
other Moscow orchestra.”
“...Again and again one is amazed by this marvelous orchestra that, within a short period, has...become one of the world's best.”
“The Russian National Orchestra, which is not even 20 years old, has vaulted into the forefront of the world’s great orchestras. The playing is simply remarkable: no rhythmic or tempo change seems to hold any difficulty; attention to detail is outstanding; and every solo, however brief, is handled as if the player is performing a major concerto.”
“[The RNO] may not bask in governmental approval at home, but in the eyes of the world they're the tops.”
“The Russian National Orchestra is a fantastic music machine.... seamlessly textured, supremely balanced and astoundingly virtuosic.”
“[The RNO is] easily the greatest Russian orchestra of today.”
“The Russian National Orchestra... has become a living symbol of the best in Russian art amid the uncertainty and joy of creating democracy in Russia.”
“Each section of the RNO is vigorous, confident, wonderful.”
“[The] Russian National Orchestra has to count as a major miracle.”
“Classical music [has the] singular power to transform, unite and liberate. There is perhaps no orchestra in the world that personifies those ideals like the RNO.”
“Like everything else about how Pletnev runs this orchestra, he takes nothing for granted... And also like everything else about this remarkable organization, he makes it seem not just new but newly worthwhile.”
“The extraordinary delicacy of the strings skittering into play at the start of the exposition proper is a miracle of control, ... the development is as passionate and driven as anyone could wish...”
“[There] was no shortage of gobsmacking virtuosity last night... Nobody, surely, could have emerged from the breathtaking performance [of Rachmaninov's First Piano Concerto] without feeling that the work had been completely re-assessed and refreshed.”
“The mood was certainly joyful at the Gleason, and the playing was superb. [There] was a refinement in the phrasing, a brassy sheen too often lost on ensembles East of the Danube.... This may be a young orchestra, but it is also a great one.”
“Many orchestras come to the Kravis Center stage. But none is more musical or more disciplined than the Russian National Orchestra.”
“Pletnev evokes music with the RNO which satisfies the appetite and leaves you breathless.”
“The RNO transformed notes on paper into absolute magic ... The strings performed with the sound of one rich instrument and the solo instruments sparkled with perfection...With head-shaking awe, the listeners watched and listened and smiled to orchestral music at its finest.”
“Prokofiev's ballet score Cinderella ... is available in a splendid recording with the Russian National Orchestra, conducted by Mikhail Pletnev, who deftly conveys the kinetic vitality, grandeur and refinement of this inspired music.”
“This is quite simply the best played, most atmospheric and affecting Cinderella we have ever had. This is one of the best records, not only of the year, but of the 1990s!”
“...superbly disciplined, faultlessly played and breathtakingly beautiful.”
“The playing of the Russian National Orchestra is refined and elegant to match.”
“It takes a pretty special Pathétique to make a London concert critic sit up these days, but special is the word here... There's poetry, subtlety, mood-painting that is rich but never over-ripe and - yes - dignity. The revelations don't stop there. No one should be surprised to hear that a Russian orchestra can be soul-searching, but the tonal sophistication and superbly judged balance are something new.”