Russian National Orchestra, still thriving after 20 years, coming to Seattle

Remember "glasnost?" The Russian word means freedom, or candor, in speech, but in the late 1980s, it also referred to major changes in the way the late Soviet Union conducted its official business.

Mikhail Gorbachev, the USSR's last head of state, insisted on a new openness and transparency in government dealings, helping to curb corruption, secrecy and abuses of power. He also extended new freedoms to the press, media and general cultural life of the Soviet people.

The momentum for change exceeded Gorbachev's expectations and helped bring about the collapse of the Soviet Union. But one of the lasting legacies of the glasnost years is the Russian National Orchestra (RNO), which will be appearing with its founder and artistic director, Mikhail Pletnev, conducting on Wednesday at Benaroya Hall.

Created in Moscow in 1990, the RNO was conceived as an orchestra independent of government control. Since its fifth year, the organization has enjoyed a unique administrative structure guided by the Conductor Collegium, i.e., an international group of conductors (including Berkeley Symphony's former music director Kent Nagano and Finnish maestro Paavo Berglund) led by Pletnev.

In its 20th year, the RNO thrives on international touring as well as corporate and individual donations from around the world (including the tax-deductible variety in the U.S.).

At the start, top Russian musicians flocked to Pletnev, and artistic and commercial success was instant. The RNO's debut concert in Moscow led to an offer from Virgin Classics to record Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 ("Pathétique"), which was quickly hailed by Gramophone as the best "Pathétique" recording in history.

Since then, the orchestra has made more than 60 recordings for Deutsche Grammophon and PentaTone Classics, working with various conductors and guest artists. In 2004, the RNO became the first Russian orchestra to win a Grammy Award with its recording of Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf" and Beintus' "Wolf Tracks," conducted by Nagano and narrated by Sophia Loren, Bill Clinton and Mikhail Gorbachev.

The orchestra has also collaborated, sometimes in an interdisciplinary fashion, with such talents as Dave Brubeck, Wynton Marsalis, Yefim Bronfman, Itzhak Perlman, Sir James Galway and Joshua Bell.

Pletnev began playing multiple instruments and conducting as a child. He entered the Moscow Conservatory as an adolescent, and today divides his time among the RNO, conducting top orchestras around the world and performing piano recitals. He has twice been decorated in his native Russia, first by Boris Yeltsin and again by Vladimir Putin.

The Seattle program will include Tchaikovsky's "Elegy" for String Orchestra, Shostakovich's Symphony No. 9 in E-flat major, and Dvorak's Cello Concerto in B minor. The latter will feature cellist Sergey Antonov, an exciting young talent who has won a number of prestigious cello competitions.

Tom Keogh: tomwkeogh@yahoo.com