Vadim Eilenkrig was born on May 4, 1971 in Moscow. He graduated from the children's music school in piano, then entered the Music School of the October Revolution. For further training, he chose the trumpet. After graduating from the Moscow State University of Culture, Eilenkrig began to work in the best Moscow orchestras. In 1996, he created his first solo project called XL. At the same time, the trumpeter began experimenting with electronic music in jazz. In 1997, Eilenkrieg completed his postgraduate studies at the Maimonides Academy. In 1999 he became the soloist of Igor Butman's big band.Two years later, Eilenkrig became a laureate of the International Jazz Festival in Chimkent, and in 2009, the trumpeter created the musical project "Jazz Hooligans". In the same year, the musician released his first album entitled "The Shadow of Your Smile"

Andrey Rubtsov first came to public attention in 2004 when he conducted two piano concertos by J.S. Bach, with the Russian National Orchestra and soloist Mikhail Pletnev.This conducting debut was followed by Rubtsov’s leadership of RNO concerts in Malaysia, the United States, Russia, and the Netherlands. Rubtsov has also conducted the State Youth Orchestra of Armenia, the State Caucasus Philharmonic Orchestra, the Moscow Conservatory Orchestra and the Royal Academy of Music Concert Orchestra (London). In 2006 Rubtsov conducted recordings of the world premiere of Gustav Mahler’s songs in an orchestration by the renowned Russian composer Boris Tishchenko, and several poems by contemporary composer Alexander Lokshin. Andrey Rubtsov is a 2005 honors graduate of the Moscow State Conservatory and in 2011 he graduated with top honors from the Royal Academy of Music's conducting course – the first Russian musician to achieve this distinction in the history of the acclaimed London Academy.

The Russian National Orchestra was founded in 1990 by pianist and conductor Mikhail Pletnev. Maintaining an active international schedule, the RNO appears in the music capitals of Europe, Asia and the Americas, is a frequent guest at festivals such as Edinburgh, the BBC Proms and presents the RNO Grand Festival each September to open the Moscow season. Their discography, launched with a highly praised 1991 recording of Tchaikovsky's Pathétique, now numbers more than 80 critically acclaimed recordings. Notable releases include the complete Beethoven symphonies and piano concertos on Deutsche Grammophon, Tchaikovsky’s six symphonies for Pentatone, and the RNO Shostakovich project, also on Pentatone, cited as “the most exciting cycle of the Shostakovich symphonies to be put down on disc, and easily the best recorded” (SACD.net). Their recording of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf and Beintus' Wolf Tracks, conducted by Kent Nagano and narrated by Sophia Loren, Bill Clinton and Mikhail Gorbachev, received a 2004 Grammy Award, making the RNO the first Russian orchestra to win the recording industry's highest honor.  Their recording of Shostakovich Symphony No. 7, conducted by Paavo Järvi, was awarded the Diapason d’Or de l’Année 2015 as the year's best symphonic album, and was nominated for a 2016 Grammy Award.