Strauss' Four Last Songs

[Connemara]

Such beauty in these works.

I have a copy of Gundula Janowitz singing "Beim Schlafengehen," third song from Vere Lietze Lieder. It is so gorgeous, words do not do it justice. Someone recommended it to me on SF years ago...Mr. Checks maybe? Thank you for that, whoever you are. Janowitz is a goddess.

Tragic story regarding the premiere, too. Strauss wrote it in when he was 84 and did not live to see the premiere (London, 1950).

 

[Connemara]

No one matches Janowitz's reading of this. I just listened to Dame Schwarzkopf and it was disappointing. Clarity was not there.


The onlly thing close seems to be Lucia Popp.

 

[Full Canvas]

In Peter Weir's Year of Living Dangerously, Billy Kwan plays the songs for Jill on a scratchy old Victrola while Jakarta is coming apart at the seams during Sukarno's overthrow.

There are many wonderful recordings. My favorite is Sylvia Sass on Hungaroton.

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[A Y]

My favorite song from 4LS is Im Abendrot.

You should also check out the Mahler lieder, especially the Ruckert-Lieder cycle for its incandescent autumnal resignation, notably "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen", but the others are incredible as well. You might also like Wagner's Siegfried Idyll, and his Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde.

--Andre

 

[Connemara]

Thank you FC and Andre. I will look for that Syliva Sass recording and Siegfried Idyll. I've heard Tristan many times but not Siegfried.

 

[Full Canvas]

^ ^ ^ ^ ^

The new member seems to have a different translation of the Hesse poems than mine!

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