Hugo Wolf wrote mostly songs and other vocal pieces in his tragic life, the majority of his other works being either lost or not much more than fragments. The songs represent some of the finest post-Wagnerian vocal works in the tonal repertoire, mixing a rich harmonic language with an unusual sensitivity to poetic nuance and form.

Little need be said about Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, one of the giants of 20th-century music-making (excerpted for this month's CCM). And, Fischer-Dieskau (and his faithful pianist, Gerald Moore) have already made several appearances on these pages.