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.

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

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

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.

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.

One of the most moving works ever written.

Beyond words how beautiful this performance is...

The greatest music ever written for the human voice.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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!

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.

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.

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

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.

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....

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

Just extraordinarily beautiful and moving...

Thank you.Thank you. Thank you.

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.

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

Fantastic singing fantastic playing fantastic conducting.

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

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).

Just remembering why I love Strauss

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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 !!!

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

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

@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!).

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

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,,,

Makes me weep uncontrollably each time...

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

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

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!

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

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.

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

now, strauss become my new favorite composer

Grand music in its mot divine form.

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.

Stunning singing and stunning Orchestrer.

OMG. Absolutely stunning.

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

This is wonderful.

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.

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?

thank you!!

So beautiful.........

Wow! That was quite a ride.

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.

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

Beautiful💗

Wow, that's delicate. Gorgeous!

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!

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

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

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

Love Renee's rendition of Strauss!

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

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

Was für eine wunderbare Musik!

Cuanta belleza en música y voz.¡¡¡ Simplemente maravilloso.¡¡¡¡¡

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.

How could anyone dislike this?

Grazie Educazione e gentilezza Vira koval

I believe there is ETERNITY. From Tokyo Japan

Ich finde Soile Isokoski immer noch als die beste Interpretin dieses Liedes.

beautiful

A love and touching emotion...