Much admired in his Opera North days, Steven Sloane is a most perceptive musician who conducts his Bochum Symphony in a gorgeous disc of songs by Joseph Marx. Often more beautiful than the music of Richard Strauss, the creamy texture of soprano Angela Maria Blasi seduces the ear in the eleven songs for high voice, Marx using the orchestra to colour words in warm and subtle shades. Stella Doufexis, a fresh sounding mezzo, adds a further 10 tracks, the words telling of love and sadness. With excellent sound, this is a disc to fervently commend.