Four last songs is a song cycle for soprano and orchestra from 1948 by German composer Richard Strauss (1864 - 1949). This work is often considered the swan song not only of Strauss, but also of the late romantic era of classical music in general. The songs on texts by Hesse and von Eichendorff are "Frühling" (Spring), "September", "Beim Schlafengehen" (When Falling Asleep) and "Im Abendrot" (At Sunset). All of the songs but "Frühling" deal with death and all were written shortly before Strauss himself died. They are suffused with a sense of calm, acceptance, and completeness (Wikipedia). Personally, I think this song cycle is one of the most important and beautiful of all time. The average playing time is 18 minutes (AllMusic). I have a handful of versions, of which I have a slight preference for the one by Elizabeth Schwarzkopf and the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra under George Szell on an EMI CD.
