The Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky has signed a recording contract with the Finnish label, Ondine. Hvorostovsky, who shot to fame when he took the BBC Cardiff Singer of the Year competition in 1989 (the same year that Bryn Terfel took the Lieder Award), is widely considered one of the leading singers of his generation.

The first disc to emerge from this new partnership is a collection of songs by Rachmaninov with Hvorostovsky's regular pianist Ivari Ilja. The programme includes Rachmaninov's popular Spring waters and In the silence of the mysterious night, and the digital version of the album will contain two bonus tracks: Lilacs and The raising of Lazarus. The CD will be released in the UK and US on January 31 with the digital version (streamable and for download) will be available on January 3.

Reijo Kiilunen, Ondine's MD commented that Hvorostovsky's 'unique charisma and sovereign authority are wonderfully highlighted in the kind of repertoire which we are about to release over the coming years'. And those future plans include a Russian song album (Tchaikovsky, Mussorgskly and Taneyev) and a Russian opera arias collection.