Gramophone – September 2019

14 GRAMOPHONE SEPTEMBER 2019 gramophone.co.uk

FORTHERECORD

PHOTOGRAPHY:

MUSACCHIO & IANNIELLO, COURTESY SONETTO CLASSICS

Our monthly series telling the story behind an orchestra

ORCHESTRA Insight ...

ussian ational Orchestra

Founded 1990

Home Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, Moscow

Artistic Director Mikhail Pletnev

Once upon a time, you knew when you were hearing a Russian

orchestra. These days, you can’t be so sure. That might be

a result of increasing orchestral globalisation but it’s also

connected to a relatively new orchestra that has become

one of the country’s biggest musical exports.

The Russian National Orchestra was founded by the pianist

and conductor Mikhail Pletnev in 1990 – the first symphony

orchestra in Russia to exist outside government control. It wasn’t

just the constitution that was new. Pletnev wanted a new kind of

‘Russian’ sound, something removed from the shrieking colours

and relentless heft associated with the stereotypical Russian

orchestra of the time. Pletnev would fashion his new orchestra

in his own image: with the composure and clarity for which he

was known as a pianist.

The success of Pletnev’s experiment must be judged on

audition, but there’s no doubting the distinctiveness of the

playing he engendered. It retained a certain boldness, but

with better blending woodwinds, and strings that sounded more

velvety than earthy. Critics soon noticed that the RNO was

shunning traditional Russian sentimentalism in favour of

something more multifaceted and colourful.

The RNO became the first Russian orchestra to perform in

Israel and at the Vatican, and attracted major sponsorship from

international banks and diplomatic figures. But its profile would

cause problems. When Pletnev stepped back in 1999 to become

Conductor Laureate, the RNO was undermined by the Russian

government’s founding of a state-sponsored rival (the National

Philharmonic Orchestra) comprising many of the same musicians.

Pletnevreturnedwithsteelyresolveandakeyinnovation:

a ‘collegium’ of chief conductors, including Vladimir Jurowski

and Kent Nagano, to further bolster his ensemble’s international

presence. He reunited the orchestra with DG’s mics, providing

numerous documents of that very particular sound including

discussion-worthy Beethoven symphony and concerto cycles.

The RNO’s discography stretches to over 80 titles, with its

Virgin Classics recording of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No 6,

Pathétique, being named by Gramophone as one of ‘The 100

Greatest Recordings’. Many of the recordings make a statement:

Peter and the Wolf, narrated by Sophia Loren, Bill Clinton and

Mikhail Gorbachev, is a clear indication of Pletnev’s desire for

the RNO to be seen as an ambassador for an outward-looking

Russia. It remains as such today, visiting festivals from Latvia to

California, stopping by at the BBC Proms, and presenting its

own series in Moscow and many

far-flungcornersofRussiatoo.

AndrewMellor

Listentoourspecialplaylist on Qobuz

Celebrating the album

The second edition of National Album Day

has been announced, again to celebrate the

format’s relevance and legacy across

musical genres. Taking place in the UK on

October 12, and jointly organised by the BPI

(the UK’s record industry body) and the music

retailers association ERA, the year’s main

theme – called ‘Don’t Skip – will encourage

people to listen to an album from beginning

to end, and promote the idea that listening

to an album in its entirety can have positive

well-being and mental health beneits.

Dame Sarah Connolly

Dame Sarah has announced her withdrawal

from performances at ENO and the Proms to

undergo surgery for breast cancer. ‘Like so

many women alicted with this disease, I will

face whatever is coming as best I can,’ the

mezzo said, adding that she hopes ‘to fulil all

other concert and recording commitments

over the coming months’. All at Gramophone

wish her well in the months ahead.

Norma Fisher, Vol 

Last year saw the release by Sonetto Classics

of recordings made in the 1970s by

Norma Fisher, an acclaimed pianist who

was sadly forced to stop performing after

developing focal dystonia, but who went on

to become one of today’s most sought-after

piano teachers. Incredibly well received –

Michelle Assay named it her Critics’ Choice of

2018 – that irst album of Brahms and Scriabin

(7/18) is now being followed in September by

a recording of music by Liszt, Schumann,

Debussy and Tchaikovsky. Norma Fisher: her 1970s recordings are a revelation

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