Galina Gorchakova can be heard in action on two superb solo CDs on the Philips label: a heartstopping selection of Verdi and Tchaikovsky Arias with the Kirov Orchestra conducted by Valery Gergiev, and Russian Romances, released in the autumn of 1997, a mouth-watering collection of Russian art songs with piano accompaniment by Larissa Gergieva. Of the latter, she says "the whole process of putting it together was very difficult". She had to fight to get the songs she wanted included on the disc, and she feels the angst which went into its creation is expressed in the music. "It grabs the listener - it grabs the soul." She's right.