Conductor, musician and Grammy Award Winner Mikhail Pletnev founded the Russian National Orchestra in 1990, a bold move considering it was the first privately funded ensemble in the history of Russia. A gathering of the finest musicians led by a consummate interpreter of the classical repertoire, they won a Grammy for their recording of Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf” in 2004 and have wowed audiences the world over. For their March appearance in CAMA Santa Barbara’s Centennial Season, they were joined by rising star and 2015 Tchaikovsky Competition Silver Medalist, pianist George Li for an all Rachmaninoff program, highlighted by the second piano concerto. Some good things do still come from Russia.
