Hände, laßt von allem Tun,
Stirn, vergiß du alles Denken,
Alle meine Sinne nun
Wollen sich in Schlummer senken.

Richard Strauss, the mysterious figure of the late Romantic/early Modern eras, had nothing and no one in the late 1940s but his wife, forever his companion, and his music. As Germany crumbled around him, he fled to Switzerland after the war, doing nothing really except going on a London tour to conduct. He was left to sit with his own mind, which was growing closer to death.
In terms of his contemporaries, there isn't much to say. The remnants of the French Impressionists admired his avant-garde side, mostly present in the mid to late 1900s decade, but they thought he was now stale. Stravinsky despised him. The Second Viennese School pitied him. They simply could not understand how such a man, with a savant-like knowledge of harmony, never truly embraced atonality after Elektra. In order to understand Richard Strauss, one must first understand his value of tonality itself; Strauss never really let go of tonality and the major-minor structure while others around him did; for him, it gave him a canvas to paint on, a sandbox to build upon. Yes, there are moments of pre-atonality, especially evident in the glorious work that is Elektra, but most of the sections I reference in Elektra have a somewhat easy-to-determine tonal center. The tonal center simply changes constantly, and it is clouded by virtuous chromaticism that makes your blood stand still.
But I am not here to talk about Elektra. Nowhere is Strauss' late style better represented than the Four Last Songs. Here, the harmony constantly shifts, as is usual with Strauss, and it is all so, so wonderful. Harmony and tonality are beautifully expressed through the large orchestra. And the songs... what tantalizingly gorgeous songs they are. These are the true conclusion of Strauss' life, along with the Metamorphosen. Strauss uses the poems of Hesse and von Eichendorf to describe the joyous, beautiful farewell to life. All of this is Der Rosenkavalier, Frau Ohne Schatten and Ariadne on steroids. I pray that you will enjoy the songs.

PS; Expect Italian opera uploads in the future. I will be slow to upload because of school, but do be patient.

Recording: Jessye Norman, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig under Kurt Masur (1982)
I do not own this recording or the score. This video was made for educational purposes.

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