For this new CD, Olga Makarina has chosen a program of songs by three composers not usually recognized for their work in the genre. In fact, each of the composers, Franz Liszt, Piotr Tchaikovsky and Sergei Rachmaninov are best known for their splendid orchestral compositions. Nevertheless, Tchaikovsky wrote over one hundred songs while Liszt’s and Rachmaninov’s output come in at just a bit below this number. The songs of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov cover a wide range of emotions, and the Russian language lends itself to that wonderful melancholy, that bitter-sweet sensation of desperation tinged with hope that can make these songs so overwhelmingly touching and communicative. Her 2001-02 season included her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortileges.