The Russian composer Alla Pavlova, now resident in the USA, has written a number of orchestral works, including five symphonies and the ballet Sulamith (Naxos 8.557674). The orchestration of her Fifth Symphony is lighter and simpler than that of the preceding four, focussing on the strings and with much less percussion. The music is an expression of Pavlova’s feelings about life and spirituality, with particular importance given to the violin solos. Elegy for piano and string orchestra was written for the film The American Healys, a tragic love story based on the life of Michael Healy, an Irish immigrant land-owner in Georgia who married his black slave. Pavlova’s first four symphonies are available on Naxos 8.557157 and 8.557566.