The Vier letzte Lieder (Four last songs) by Strauss are just that. They were composed in 1948, and the composer died a year later without ever having heard them performed publicly. In 1950 they premiered in the Royal Albert Hall in London by Wagner soprano Kirsten Flagstad. The connection between these two giants has always been strong.
Three of these songs deal with death, but they are also about fulfilment, being content. The song that caught the attention of the 84 years old Richard Strauss was written Joseph von Eichendorf, and the other three were written by Hermann Hesse. Those are still under copyright law until 2032. Only the Dutch version seems to have no problem with that.
I got this performance on CD at first, as a present. This performance is magnificent, so I’m happy to also have them on the precious black stuff.