Ah, Werner Güra singing Schumann! The new CD contains the Op 39 Liederkreis, plus the Dichterliebe. I grew up with DFD singing these, but Güra gave me much pleasure. A lovely voice, and highly intelligent singing without DFD's occasional blustering. I have always been a great fan of the Op 39 Liederkreis.
As part of a good weekend, I also recorded off-air Hilary Hahn playing the Spohr 8th violin concerto (Gesangsszene). I am not an uncritical admirer of Miss Kahn, but I liked the Spohr as much as I liked her Elgar. Some beautiful playing, and she seems to be learning to play softly, on occasions. You still notice, however, the modern tendancy not to articulate with the bow; emphasis is still too much on a long stream of beautiful sound. Still, it is good to have a fine modern recording of the Spohr, though Heifetz is still well nigh unbeatable in this music.
Finally, for £10 I bought the three Naxos CDs of Kreisler and Rupp doing the complete Beethoven violin & piano sonatas. When I was a teenager, holiday jobs working on the local farms used to see me earning enough money to buy 2 LPs (roughly 80 minutes worth of recorded music). A week's work for 80 minutes! Times have certainly changed.