The Russian National Orchestra, despite its youth and many difficulties, is the most popular and frequently visited academic musical group. It is included in the twenty best symphony concerts in the world!
It amazes everyone with what virtuosity and skill the soloists perform their parts, with what feeling and inspiration the wind instruments sound, what scale and scope the leaders try to achieve.
Who founded this team? How is it remarkable and attractive to a global audience? Who is part of the orchestra and what tasks does the team set for itself? Let's find out.
How it all began
Although the iteration of the Russian National Orchestra is very simple and short, at the same time it is distinguished by its special brightness and originality.
The team was founded in 1990, just at the turn of the Soviet era, during the years of perestroika and radical reforms. It was not an easy time both for the country as a whole and for musical art in particular.
The economic crisis, political instability ... It would seem that now is not the time to create something. Who will go to symphony concerts? Who agrees to play for a pittance? What will happen to the team in a year or two? These questions could not have one hundred percent positive answers.
However, this state of affairs did not affect the decision of the creator of the orchestra. Mikhail Vasilyevich Pletnev performed a miracle - created the Russian National Symphony Orchestra, an oasis of classical exemplary music.
The team was based on foreign donations (in most of the USA), so it was not financed from the state budget. The management of income, expenses and revenue was entrusted to reliable enthusiastic specialists who are members of the Board of Trustees of the RNSO.
Feature of the orchestra
The first and main work performed by the beginning orchestra was “Slavic March”, written by the inimitable, talented composer P. I. Tchaikovsky.
The work in its original (full and undistorted) form was performed by the Russian National Symphony Orchestra at its first performance. Since then, the “Slavic March” was given the unspoken name. This is the visiting card of the M. Pletnev Orchestra. In the performance of this work, musicians of RNO have achieved unprecedented skill and virtuosity.
Early tours
The first tour of the orchestra was mainly abroad. It was Israel and the Vatican. They say that the pope applauded the Russian musicians standing.
The worldwide fame of the team was impressive. Six years after its formation, the Russian National Orchestra was invited to the opening of the Economic Forum (Davos) and the Summer Olympic Games (Atlanta), as well as to the Air Force Festival (London).
The touring activity of the symphonic ensemble did not pass by its native spaces. At a time when other metropolitan orchestras had almost stopped their outreach concerts in the provinces, the RNO decided to conduct the so-called “Volga tours” in the outskirts of the Volga region, pleasing the ears of the inhabitants of Samara, Kazan, Volgograd, Yaroslavl, Saratov ...
All this was possible only thanks to the active initiative of the team leader - Mikhail Vasilyevich Pletnev, a man who has a bright original talent and skill, who is madly in love with music and his brainchild.
Briefly about the main thing
At the time of the creation of the orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev was thirty-three years old. He - a young pianist, musician and composer, endowed with unprecedented artistry and professionalism - was a highly intelligent, energetic person.
Despite the rather young age, Mikhail Pletnev already had great popularity and recognition. Eight years earlier, he was awarded the State Prize, and just one year before the events described, he received the honorary title of People's Artist of the RSFSR.
The musician was born in Arkhangelsk. From childhood, he was attracted to musical art, so he studied at the Kazan music school, and later graduated from the Moscow Conservatory.
Initially, Mikhail Vasilyevich declared himself to the world as a talented pianist, masterfully performing technically difficult, emotionally rich compositions by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Grieg, Chopin and others. His performances (both solo and with the orchestra) were held in the best theaters in London , Berlin, Israel, Munich and the Czech Republic.
At the age of twenty-three, Mikhail Pletnev made his debut as a conductor, coherently and harmoniously managing the performance of the complex songs of Beethoven, Rachmaninov, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky.
Pletnev’s own compositions, which still delight the ears of classical music connoisseurs, are amazingly deep and expressively expressive. This is the Piano Quintet, and the Concerto for viola and orchestra, and Adagio for five double basses, and Capriccio for piano and orchestra.
As you can see, Mikhail Vasilyevich Pletnev is a bright and talented person. It was such a person that the founder and founder of a new remarkable orchestra should have been.
Vladimir Spivakov
However, in 1999, Mikhail Vasilievich, who was living in Switzerland at that time, decided to devote himself to individual concert activity. Therefore, a difficult question arose: whom to put on the post of chief conductor of the orchestra?
The new leader was Vladimir Spivakov, a gifted conductor, violinist and music teacher. Vladimir Teodorovich had a great experience in orchestral activities: he worked as a soloist at the Moscow Philharmonic Society, taught as a professor at the Music and Pedagogical Institute, was the artistic director of the Music Festival (Colmar, France), regularly participated as a jury in well-known international competitions.
The invaluable experience and unprecedented skill of Spivakov positively influenced the repertoire and performances of the Russian National Orchestra.
Change of leadership
However, in the winter of 2003, the position of chief conductor of the collective was abolished. Since then, the orchestra has been led by a conductor board, which at various times included such talented and famous conductors as Kent Nagano (American conductor of Japanese origin), Paavo Berglund (Finnish conductor), Alexander Vedernikov (Soviet and Russian conductor) and Vladimir Yurovsky (Russian conductor).
By the way, Mikhail Pletnev, who wholeheartedly advocates his brainchild, again entered the collegium of artistic directors of the orchestra.
Modern activity
Despite the fact that the Russian National Orchestra was created as a private enterprise, in 2008 he received a grant from the Government of the Russian Federation, and a year later he was given state status.
Concerts of the Russian National Orchestra gather thousands of halls of grateful listeners, they fascinate and inspire at the same time.
The musical collective leads a very active public life - gives charity concerts, holds all kinds of cultural performances, carries out sound recordings of symphonies, receives domestic and international awards.
Let's find out more about this.
Charity
For twenty-one years, the RNO has been implementing an annual concert performance project for disadvantaged children. The performances are attended by small listeners from orphanages, hospitals and boarding schools, who are given the opportunity to experience the healing power of music.
Children can not only listen to wonderful classical music, but also learn interesting facts about musical instruments and artists, as well as watch an exciting and unusual interpretation of Prokofiev’s fairy tale “Peter and the Wolf”.
Social activity
Also, the Russian National Orchestra is actively involved in the country's public life. For example, in 2007, the team held a memorial concert in Beslan.
In 2010, in the spring, as part of an international project with the unusual name “Three Romes”, initiated by the Orthodox and Catholic Church, the musical group took part in a concert of Russian music.
In 2014, RNO performed two concerts at the English school of Stowie (as part of the cross-cultural year of Great Britain and Russia).
It is also necessary to mention that the orchestra gives annual concerts in memory of those who died at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
As you can see, the Russian national orchestra is popular and in demand not only at domestic events, but also at foreign events, which indicates its incredible popularity, skill and sophistication.
Members of the orchestra
The team performs under the strict guidance of the talented Mikhail Pletnev, as well as with other, no less virtuoso guest conductors, such as Semyon Bychkov, Paavo Järvi, Klaus Peter Flor, Ingo Metzmakher and many others.
All the musicians of the Russian National Orchestra are gifted experienced people who are capable of captivating and captivating even the people who are farthest from symphonic music with their skill. Under the hands of musicians come to life the magnificent, rich in strength and fire, classical works of famous authors, which have a huge impact on the soul and mind, heal and heal, make you think and change.
Among the brilliant first-class performers of the collective, mention should be made of Bruni Aleksey Mikhailovich (violinist, Honored Artist of Russia, Honorary Professor), Gothelf Alexander Lvovich (cellist, Honored Artist of Russia, Associate Professor of the Department), Tomilova Olga Vladimirovna (oboe player, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, music teacher) Pachkaeva Vyacheslav Pavlovich (bass trombonist, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, teacher), Lavrika Vladislav Mikhailovich (trumpeter, conductor and teacher), Raeva Alexandra Vladimirovich (horn player, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, teacher) and many others who decorated their performances with domestic and foreign concerts.
Over the twenty-seven years of its existence, the Russian National Orchestra has collaborated with such talented, internationally recognized performers as Luciano Pavarotti, Montserrat Caballe, Jose Carreras, Vadim Repin, Dmitry Hvorostovsky, Bella Davidovich and many others.
2017 Big Festival
By tradition, the Bolshoi festival performed by RNO will open the concert season of 2017-2018 and will be held in the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall from September 11 to October 2, 2017. The festival will include six concerts, in which famous performers and conductors will take part, and also rising music stars.
The first concert will be marked by a symphonic program composed of works by French composers Bizet and Ravel. Also, the magnificent and unsurpassed poem by Alexander Scriabin “Prometheus” will be presented to the public.
At the last concert, the opera work of Alexander Dargomyzhsky “The Mermaid” will sound.
Throughout the festival, the audience will enjoy the performance of symphonic music by such talented and outstanding classics as Boris Lyatoshinsky, Sergey Prokofiev and Ludwig van Beethoven. Michael Pletnev himself will sit at the instrument. One of the evenings will be devoted to a pilot project combining music and the word of art - “The Last Night of the Last Tsar”.
So don’t miss out!