Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone), various pianists EMI 456 3522 (11 CDs) ****

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau turned 85 last month, and the air is heavy again with recordings by the much-recorded, great German baritone. The focus of EMI's new celebratory collection is very specific – the German song repertoire with piano, in recordings that go as far back as 1951 (Schubert's Die schöne Müllerin), ending with a selection of Mahler songs from 1978. Fischer-Dieskau's was an intricate art, and he lavished his extraordinary concern for detail on everything he touched, whether it was the greatest of music, or an historic excavation of rarely heard repertoire. Critics complained about his intrusiveness as an interpreter. But, listening to the range covered by this collection, what's striking is his sheer adaptability, his concern to transform himself into what each song demanded. The last CD includes interviews plus texts and translations in PDF files. See url.ie/57cs