Although the Russian National Orchestra is an unusually young orchestra, it has very rapidly joined the top international elite and is ranked as no. 15 in the world by Gramophone. The credit for this is due largely to Mikhail Pletnev. He has worked intensively with the orchestra, released numerous highly praised albums, and when the orchestra set off on a world tour to celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2016, the New York Times wrote that Pletnev is a "phlegmatic type, an image of calm and clarity on the podium. And his fantastic orchestra responds with correspondingly high clarity and precision."