Devised by the accompanist Paul Plummer, the Wigmore's weekend focusing on the lieder of Richard Strauss contrasted his songs with those from other traditions. In the second concert, the alternative approaches came from Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky, whose direct emotional statements are a long way from the reflective and occasionally ironic stance preferred by their German colleague. One could hardly imagine either of the Russians devoting himself to an entire cycle libelling the supposed greediness of music publishers, which Strauss did in his Krämerspiegel (Shopkeepers in the Mirror), on receipt of which one publisher sued him, and won.

Given Strauss's fluency, the results, as revealed in the six items performed here, are at least amusing. Tenor Daniel Norman's interpretation of these slight compositions showed a concern with maximising the expressive potential of every word and note. Norman does not possess a wide range of colour, but his dynamic range is ambitious. He was eloquent in the misery of Tchaikovsky's Alone Once More and as thoughtful in the autumnal loss of Strauss's Allerseelen as he was carefree in his energetic account of Herr Lenz.

His partner, soprano Rachel Nicholls, was equally secure technically, following an annoying tendency to start phrases with a blanched-out tone before sliding into full voice. Her words were less clear than Norman's, and the brightness of her tone occasionally glared. But she had her delicate moments, as in Rachmaninov's Daisies and Tchaikovsky's The Bride's Lament, out of which she made a small personal tragedy, as well as some grand ones, such as Strauss's Zueignung.

Throughout, Plummer was a near-ideal accompanist, though occasionally he could have seized more of the limelight, especially in the pianistic floods of Rachmaninov's Spring Streams, which need to sound torrential.