One of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written.

Gut wrenching and uplifting at the same time. I am 77, my wife is 80 Sooner rather than later this will be one of us. The culmination of Strauss's career.

@bobareebop

Ай бұрын

I understand completely. We are only in our mid-to-late 60's, but it certainly feels different now when we think about our remaining days on earth. It's interesting to contrast Strauss's "take" on death at age 24 with "Death and Transfiguration" and at age 84 with this piece.

Renee Fleming is simply divine. This is, by far, her most accomplished rendering. Glass of Chateau Margot, fireplace crackling, dim lights, and Ms. Fleming last four songs. Heaven is on earth.

@jpaliwal

4 жыл бұрын

Well, you are truly blessed. Well, we all are if we get to listen to this.

@peterbierwirth8016

4 жыл бұрын

Never heard of any 'Château Margot' - but a glass of the real Château Margaux would be perfectly suitable to accompany Die vier letzten Lieder ...hopefully it won't be your last glass to drink.

@russellsatterthwait3505

Жыл бұрын

Well put. The occasional glimpse of the eternal, and what better setting as the one that you described.

@Edeskenney

10 ай бұрын

Totally agree.

Straus's Four Last Songs were the final and crowning achievement of a lifetime of incredible music by one of the greatest geniuses of classical music. In this performance ,the magnificent voice of Renee Fleming, a great orchestra all coming together in an explosion of ecstasy. I never tire of watching it.

A very nuanced performance, by a mature soprano in top form. I doubt we will every hear it sung better.

Probably the most beautiful piece of music ever written and performed brilliantly

@antomontinaro

5 жыл бұрын

Really???

@MOGGS1942

4 жыл бұрын

It's certainly a contender, Jrff.

@MrMichaelvier

3 жыл бұрын

@@antomontinaro : YES !!!!!!! Jeff Howey is right....

@antomontinaro

3 жыл бұрын

@@MrMichaelvier Listen to Jessye Norman in these wonderful Last Songs

@denniscapstick1583

3 жыл бұрын

I agree - it is sublime, always makes me tear up when I hear this music

One of the most moving works ever written.

To take this song at a tempo this slow and knowing how long the phrases are, is an act of pure courage that brings tears to my eyes.

@PunguinYoga

7 жыл бұрын

Interesting point.

@jeanpierrefrancioni5167

7 жыл бұрын

magnifique

@renelevaillant3766

6 жыл бұрын

All great Are is made from courage.

@MegaPetrof

6 жыл бұрын

Perfectly well said. You put your finger on how beautifully tender and with what uncomplicated abandon Renee Fleming sings. This is artistic perfection.

@Mooseman327

6 жыл бұрын

Very similar tempo as Szell's classic version with Schwartzkopf, one of Fleming's desert island discs.

Beyond words how beautiful this performance is...

The greatest music ever written for the human voice.

Thank you Strauss and Renee for making this world a better place through music.

@PunguinYoga

8 жыл бұрын

+Do Jagi Amen!

@winifredtrout1

2 жыл бұрын

?

I heard her perform in Carnegie Hall! So perfect!!

i think one could say that strauss saved the best for the last; one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written and renee does it justice. i saw her perform it live in tanglewood.

One of the greatest joys of being alive is having the chance of listening to this! God bless Flemming!

Just beautiful to hear, watch, and ponder what the composer was thinking. Picture the state of Germany following the war plus the composer nearing the end of his life. Ms. Fleming's. voice and expression tell it all. As someone else said, she lives these songs.

Marvellous. This has just turned up in my notifications and ruined what I thought was my favourite version. Great performance.

First time I've heard this. So movingly beautiful. Thank you.

these strausses die vier letzte lieder are the most beautiful music on earth. music so divine. and fleming does it so great and pure. its like she's breathing the music. just beautiful and calming. rip my dearest friend.

I was lucky enough to be in the audience, what a memoriable evening. Renee received a standing ovation and very deserved it was too.

Thank you Madame Fleming for taking your time with the tempo so I could enjoy every delicious note of this incredibly beautiful music.

The Proms just replayed this concert and it was my first time hearing it and WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! HONEY!!!

Oh this is sublime music, sung by a sublime voice and exquisitely played. Renee Fleming is the consummate artist . I'm so glad I discovered this clip. This music makes my cry every time I hear it, no matter where I am or what I am doing. I always feel a better person every time I hear it.

@tbridge001

7 жыл бұрын

+1

Un sommet de la musique de tous temps et pays merveilleusement interprété. On est dans le sublime. La fin d’un monde.

@th.jacquesbecker8405

2 ай бұрын

André Tubeuf avait très bien dit cela dans son commentaire de l'enregistrement de Schwartzkopf

I adore this piece of music.... saw it performed live at the manchester bridgewater hall and was just in tears by the end of it it was so moving.... truly a spectacular piece!

Phantastisch...man glaubt in einer anderen (besseren) Welt zu sein....

This is in my opinion the ultimate Im Abenrot. Renée Fleming's unbelievably gifted, powerful rich and sublime voice fills ones heart to it's maximum like no one else has ever managed to achieve.

Renee Fleming and of course Richard I love you. I hope I don't sound so simple but this is so pure it makes me so happy - over and over again.

@PunguinYoga

8 жыл бұрын

+MO OH You don't sound simple... just grateful.

Hundreds of years of mastery went into constructing those wooden instruments and the most beautiful sounding of them all is the voice of Renee.

Fantastic singing fantastic playing fantastic conducting.

Quelle voix ..elle me donne des frissons Ces Lieder de Richard Strauss sont d'une beauté rare

Le chant de l'âme et du cosmos. Rien n'est plus beau!

I will never tire of hearing that chord progression at 6:46-6:55 - it always sends shivers down my spine. Renee Fleming is one of the very few singers who can sing opera just as well as Lieder; utterly sublime rendition of one of Strauss's greatest works. Simply heavenly

@noblekime5912

3 жыл бұрын

O vast, tranquil peace, so deep in the afterglow! How weary we are of wandering-- Is this perhaps . . . death?

@winifredtrout1

2 жыл бұрын

Just sing it!

To use only 1 word for Renee's voice , the word for me is simply, BREATHTAKING, Renee's voice is BREATHTAKING.

This is still the best of the best of singing. Orchestra is amazing.

I was there in that concert,at the very front, it was like in heaven it was so Amazing,everyone is breathing with that music,that's moment, tears....

I love this version- often played too fast for my taste but this is beautifully interpreted.

Il ne faut jamais prétendre qu'un chanteur a la meilleure interpétation d'une oeuvre, car rendus a ce niveau, tous ces chanteurs sont de grands artistes. Ceci dit, je trouve cette interprétation de Renée Flemming très émouvante, elle qui d'ordinaire me laisse froid. Merci a toi Renée!

Thank you.Thank you. Thank you.

It would have been nice to hear the full audience appreciation at the end. Brilliant !

Just extraordinarily beautiful and moving...

How in the name of God could anyone give this a thumbs down? Do you remember the first time you heard 4 last songs? For me it was in an old Mel Gibson movie, The Year of Living Dangerously. It was before the internet and I had to go to the music store, look in a book to see what was in the sound track. I purchased the album and was changed forever.

This is a perfect tempo for this marvelous composition. Renee Fleming was exquisite in her rendition. Heard my favorite soprano Kiri Te Kanawa under George Solti's baton, but it was too fast.

@winifredtrout1

2 жыл бұрын

Soile Isokovski

@keithgrasby2805

2 жыл бұрын

No, it’s too slow, regrettably characteristic of Eschenbach. Fleming’s control of breathing and line is wonderful, but it drags. Try Lisa della Casa.

@RG-vd3pw

2 жыл бұрын

kzread.info/dash/bejne/Y3ZmrqOmhdbcYbA.html Now you can dream :-D

The Strauss repertory has deep ,rich and profound orchestrations that embrace dark tones and beauty. Very nicely interpreted by Ms Fleming.

The part that goes since 6:30 to the end is just increbible, and the beauty of that chord at 6:37 is inmense. Masterful music and magic perfomance.

Just remembering why I love Strauss

Lay me down to rest and let my soul float im abendrot.

Da radio Amburgo nell'inverno '45 Von Rezzori divulgo' I 4 vier lether come speranza x una rinascita di una diversa Germania,era la prima musica che ascoltavano alla radio dopo la catastrofe, cantava la divina Shvarzekopf.

@Tony Bridge Agreed: Eschenbach and Flemming are magnificent. His choice of tempos, phrasing, balance in the winds is breathtaking. Her coloratura is fantastic. However I am biased as I had the opportunity to hear this in Houston when he was there (of all places!).

The music and voice soaring above the highest self. Humbling experience. Thank you.

Grand music in its mot divine form.

Ms. Fleming adores this music, and it shows. I can't get enough of this.

Richard Strauss was a true genius ....there are only a few of these composers who share this genius with him ...... Bach-Mozart-Beethoven- Wagner-Mahler.......His music is pure heaven... and Renee Fleming sings it breathtaking beautiful thx for posting

@julianglantz

2 жыл бұрын

Just got to add Schubert surely?

now, strauss become my new favorite composer

a class apart indeed!!! magnifico💞💞💞

Brilliant !!! !! Congratulations to the American soprano, Renée Fleming, to the German pianist and conductor Christoph Eschenbach and to the New Philarmonia Orchestra !!! @Gabba02, thanks for sharing this stunning performance with us all !!!

This is an amazing piece of music. Taking into account the words and when it was written it never fails to bring a lump to my throat.

Philharmonia not sounding too shabby here either! What a pity they haven't been credited, or even mentioned in comments. Well done guys.

@tbridge001

7 жыл бұрын

And well done for following that first downbeat, a full two seconds before they play 8-)

@emmasheppard

7 жыл бұрын

A few things here: if he wanted the orchestra to play with his beat he might have provided a clear preparatory beat - as it is he raises his arms in a gesture and brings them down, gives the ictus, there is no advance warning when that ictus is going to be: of where to play. This gesture gives the *character* of the first note. In order to give the character he wants, the orchestra needs to see the beat first - then respond. Had he given clear click, that would've given a different and not desirable attack to the first note. Orchestras respond very differently to different conductors beats - they know how to function without one and to listen to each other and play to get the best results. This isn't always evident from the outside.

Many centuries of musical developments has come together in this composition with the Best Voice of our time

Renée puts so much feeling and expression into her singing of Strauss!! You an see the tears in her eyes at the end!

It's simply so beautiful this voice, extraordinary!!

Possibly my favorite version at the moment. The orchestra is so full of expression and although a little hurried at the start it settles down and becomes magical.

That look on Renee's face at the closing says it all. Like she's looking directly at a higher power. Amazing performance.

Wow! That was quite a ride.

Beautiful music !!! As always, Strauss. He was the master of masters. this beautiful music Makes me think about whats going on in my life.. Thank you Mrs Renee Fleming for made this performance unique and magnificent

I've still not heard anything to surpass this performance... Eschenbach's conducting is just so flexible and the orchestra plays beautifully right from the beginning, like they're singing. Fleming is just so in the part and holds the attention right to the very end. Yes, maybe other singers are technically superior, but ALL the others are just that... technical... Renee LIVES this song and grabs you and leaves you breathless by the end, NONE of the others do that in quite the same way,,,

@MOGGS1942

3 жыл бұрын

Jessye Norman.

This is such a gift of beauty, the tempo makes it compelling. Tove, this is for you x

Renee when I saw your performace... I just cry! Wonderful!

Wonderful. Thank you so much for uploading this great moment. Priceless.

Esto es la belleza , la sensibilidad a flor de piel...

Stunning singing and stunning Orchestrer.

We made through strife and wonder Our journey hand in hand; From wandering let us rest now In this peaceful land. Round us the valleys falling, The sky withdrawing light; Two larks alone are calling, And dreaming from the height. Stand here and watch them flutter; Soon will be time to sleep -- So may we never falter Alone in this great deep. O wider, still more peaceful! So deep on evening’s breath. How we are tired from roaming! -- Can this even be death?

@peterbierwirth8016

4 жыл бұрын

And here for our British friends the original lyrics in German: Wir sind durch Not und Freude gegangen Hand in Hand; vom Wandern ruhen wir nun überm stillen Land. Rings sich die Täler neigen, es dunkelt schon die Luft, zwei Lerchen nur noch steigen nachträumend in den Duft. Tritt her und laß sie schwirren, bald ist es Schlafenszeit, daß wir uns nicht verirren in dieser Einsamkeit. O weiter, stiller Friede! So tief im Abendrot. Wie sind wir wandermüde-- Ist dies etwa der Tod? Quite good English translation of the German text. Ms. Fleming is producing woderful sounds, but her German diction, sorry, could still be improved, weil ich sie ohne den Originaltext vor Augen zu haben, sie kaum verstanden habe. Therefore I have posted the original lyrics so you can hear yourself what I mean. Now I have to compare Fleming with Schwarzkopf. Will be intgeresting, I suppose. But one thing I still wonder: who is the conductor whose name has not be indicated?

@carterhcoleman

4 жыл бұрын

Peter Bierwirth Christoph Eschenbach is the conductor

i went to see the Halle perform this on sunday, it was AMAZING!! it bought tears to my eyes especially when you know what its about and the reasons they were composed... tragic but beautiful! thanks for putting them up xoxox

Bravo Strauss. Bravo Renee Fleming. Please come to Perth, Western Australia.

I was there. It's impossible not to see August, 2001 as a fin de siècle moment in our history.

Remember watching this on live t.v, brilliant performances all round, went and bought the Strauss C.D

Strauss wrote the four songs separately in 1948, without the intention of being a cycle. He could not attend the premiere in London with Kirsten Flagstad and Furtwängler in May 1950 because he had already died in September 1949. He just wrote one more piece, “Malven”, a song for piano and voice premiered only in 1985 by Kiri Te Kanawa in New York. This rendition is glorious, these songs were an absolute specialty of Fleming. Eschenbach and the orchestra support her in a formidable way, with relaxed tempi, she can breathe and sing, and gives sense to every word. This is how Strauss, an atheist throughout his life, bid farewell to life. He could never find a spiritual sense anywhere, and he even admitted having trouble composing the music of Jochanaan (John the Baptist) in Salome because he needed to instill the music with a holy atmosphere that he could not compose. That said, the poems by Hesse and Eichendorff mostly speak about nature, the cycle of seasons, tiredness, calm, repose, twilight, etc. Lacking any faith, his way of seeing death is truly pagan, basically related to nature, missing any supernatural ingredients. Everything is just earthly, no mention of hope, life after death, resurrection, heaven, God, the spirit, the ancestors… nothing. Thus, the songs are hopeless, deeply nostalgic, even sentimental, but there is no relief, no comfort at all. The listener is left devastated, with little room to find solace elsewhere. It is pure resignation to something inevitable but ultimately miserable. At 7:05 Strauss quotes himself with the seven-note theme of Death and Transfiguration he wrote 60 years earlier, thus proving that he depicted death correctly as a young man (something he apparently confirmed again to his daughter-in-law, Alice, in his death bed).

@jwbhtx1

Ай бұрын

No, not miserable. It is equanimity, calm, ataraxis.

L'ampiezza dell'esperienza di questa grande e poliedrica Interprete in vari Stili dell'Opera mondiale le permette di affrontare il canto sinfonico...in maniera neutra....spiegando la sua capacità di Suonare la voce difficile, ma ampia...con tutto quello che il bel Canto le ha insegnato....portando a casa un successo pieno affrontando i Ruoli più impegnativi...e i suoi fiati lunghi come un vento profetico tagliano il testo facendolo volare su il suono di un'orchestra che pare l'ascolti ...il finale estasiata lei stessa in un abbigliamento claustrale rende giustizia a questa preghiera laica...come poche volte accade. Chapeau al direttore. Non la conoscevo...sono emozionato.

Actually, I now think she's not less involved. Her interpretation here is a little different from the one in Lucerne. It's in fact much more melancholic, nostalgic, even sort of sad. This was probably her choice, and the slower tempo does seem to contribute to a more intimate, mournful atmosphere. The way she finished the song was very deep, really moving.

Sin comentarios,solo escuchar y disfrutar.

This rips my heart out of my chest - utterly, utterly beautiful. The coda, 7:00-9:24 is simply sublime!!!!!!

@edwardmerrick6089

5 жыл бұрын

My exact reaction. Thanks.

Makes me weep uncontrollably each time...

@garyduckworth4522

8 жыл бұрын

And sir, this made David Bowie do the same. He knew his was a low art. But he listened to this after the 2001 atrocities, up in the mountains, wondering, with a heavy heart what was happening to the world. Bowie wrote some of Heathen based on this, and released his album on Strauss' birthday.

@tbridge001

8 жыл бұрын

Thanks for pointing me to this, Gary, I never knew that! :-) 'An unexpected influence on the mood of Heathen was German composer Richard Strauss. "I haven't really said this to anybody," Bowie says conspiratorially, "but, one of the things that has gotten to me over the years is Strauss's Four Last Songs. They literally were the four last songs he ever wrote. He was in his 90s when he wrote them. There was Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. They are such moving pieces of music that I just wanted to start something that in a pop/rock way captured some of the gravitas, the spiritual questioning, that was so evident on those four songs of his' from www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/05/13/1021002431619.html

@garyduckworth4522

8 жыл бұрын

+Tony Bridge You're welcome sir. Bowie slips in that interview - he said Strauss was in his 90s. He was in his 80s. As we all, including Bowie, know. The journalist slipped up too - Heathen was released on 11 June - honest!

@garyduckworth4522

8 жыл бұрын

+Tony Bridge David Bowie: "This is one album that I give to friends and acquaintances continually. Although Eleanor Steber and Lisa della Casa do fine interpretations of this monumental work, Janowitz’s performance of Strauss’s Four Last Songs has been described, rightly, as transcendental. It aches with love for a life that is quietly fading. I know of no other piece of music, nor any performance, which moves me quite like this."

@annejones8721

7 жыл бұрын

Gary Duckworth y

I came across this performance only recently when this song was used as part of the score to a BBC television series called 'The Trip to Italy'. I think, but am not sure, that this is the recording used. I love this, and am amazed at the point in Strauss's life that he wrote it. I have listened to many recordings now, but for me this is just exceptional.

@srirampdm

5 жыл бұрын

I just arrived here having watched that too! It's absolutely lovely.

@shepard-vakarian8628

3 жыл бұрын

Me too

@robtoren8068

3 жыл бұрын

No, that recording is one of the Schwarzkopf ones, also beautiful.

So beautiful.........

OMG. Absolutely stunning.

the first time I heard this music it was in a ballet perfomance I winded up out of curiosity, I had a horrible seat and could not see half the stage. as soon I possible I went again to see and hear this beautiful piece of art.

The Last Songs of the Last Strauss. And what a pathos of interpretation that of Renee Fleming! This is also ein Art des Gesamtkunstwerk.

Thank you for this tempo ..way to go, chris & renee ..(you too, rich

This is wonderful.

O que dizer dessa apresentação? A peça de Strauss é uma das mais belas composições já feitas, Renné Fleming se encontra no apogeu de sua carreira, a regência de Chritoph Eschenbach é absolutamente perfeita. Emoção pura! A partir dos 6'20'' até o final, se tem a impressão de que as portas do paraíso estão sendo abertas com o belíssimo som do flautim piccolo. Emocionante!

Wow, that's delicate. Gorgeous!

Grazie Educazione e gentilezza Vira koval

She's no doubt a master at Strauss.

Beautiful💗

only Renee can sustain such a tempo. Her breath control is just amazing...

Was für eine wunderbare Musik!

Love Renee's rendition of Strauss!

Absolutamente indescritível. Poder vivenciar uma estética desse teor já é tudo.

I believe there is ETERNITY. From Tokyo Japan

Sublime

thank you!!