firm and lively as one would expect from Svetlanov and a Russian orchestra very much on home ground. The recordings do full justice to Glinka's beautiful scoring. An enjoyable record, not to by missed by lovers of Russian music.

all done with tremendous character and verve: the Waltz-Fantasie, written for one of the many young ladies who turned the composer's head , is unfurled with just the right amount of insouciance and lashings of charm.

An eminently recommendable survey of Glinka's orchestral output ... playing of the USSR Symphony is expert and idiomatic.