I had not heard this composition in 40 years, since I first heard it in the famous picture The Year We Lived Dangerously. However I was so shocked that did not forget it.
Since my brother first introduced me (a very long time ago now) to music sung by Dame Kiri, I have listened to many recordings of the "Four Last Songs" and, to my mind, there is none to beat her utterly sublime voice. It is powerful when needed, and yet so gentle and soft in the quiet phases. Beim Schlafengehen and Im Abendrot remain my two very favourite of all her performances of any music.
A voice from the Gods. My favorite singer for life. My favorite tone poem from her - Strauss' Four Last Songs. Never tire of hearing it. She nails it every time.
I love both, Hesse's poem and Strauss' Lied and up to now I have not found an interpretation that came so close to what I expect as this one. Thank you Mrs TeKanawa, Mr Solti and especially the Konzertmeister, thank you...
In this piece she just exudes passion! In he film YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY, this music and this theme was used to the best effect possible in tragedy and triumph, even in death. The orchestral intro and support is superb and, no matter how they tried, it was NOT replicated in Sir George's follow up. I also met Dame Kiri once and she impressed me with her intellectual charm and grace. She is SO beautiful!
This is just glorious and the music seems to be written with her in mind. Her dynamic range is really on full display here. So beautiful!!! Thank you, Dame Kiri. You have blessed us with your glorious voice and time and talents. Much LOVE!!!!!
There have been MANY comments on Solti's ridiculously fast tempi for Ms Te Kanawa's concert and performances of these 4 last songs of Strauss. Folks do yourselves a favour and check out and study the music and you will find to your amazement that Maestro Solti has been brave and pedantic enough to insist on sticking to the tempi called for by Strauss and marked with metronome times! The good singers and interpreters are the ones who perform within the parameters set by the composers. BRAVA!
I am surprised that nobody (in these comments) has mentioned Kiri's exceptional ability to change vocal sound quality which she not only marvellously demonstrates here (though overall sound quality is poor) but which in this case she is remarkably joining with perfect control and deep understanding of the words and music. Also, her German pronunciation is superb.
I adore her, & that ( deep "cassis" ?)coloured dress~elegant, exuding feminine pulchritude & also elegance & class, what a...Dame!.. So, Bravo!! And to Sir Georg. A little bit of heaven right here on earth, praise be. I wonder if even the angels weep when they hear this.
Kiri Te Kanawa has more than a clue about this lied and how to perform it. Poetry, like any art, is open to interpretation. Some will like the interpretation, others will not. To my mind her interpretation of this poem is sensitive and exquisite, especially as this is a live performance and the demands of such cannot but have an effect. I've listened to dozens of recordings of this work by several sopranos. Te Kanawa's 1979 recording with Andrew Davis and the LSO is the only one that moves me to tears. (PS: An interpretation is an interpretation. Whether it is "better" or "worse" than any other is purely subjective. Ergo, it is pointless to try to debate the issue in such terms.)
davidhertzberg Yep. What you've written is very intelligent & absolutely nailed it. She's a great lady & one of my all time favourites. Call me baez :-)
After listening to several other interpretations they sound almost lazy to me. Dame Kiri sounds like champagne compared to the ginger ale of the others. I am nowhere near describable as an opera lover, but this woman transcends genre.
Very well stated and certainly valid but in this case I think you are utterly wrong...Madame Kiri Te Kanawa is in a category of one...incomparable. I do agree that this version is the one that always moves me to tears.
when this is all over and done and provided I had an honorable life ~ which is all I ask for I would be just grateful, to recapture the once in a lifetime emotional peak I unexpectedly felt that time when the beauty beyond description strikes you that this song is that's all I ask for
Kiri’s voice PERFECTLY frames R. Strauss. Sir. G. Solti is the Master in 20th( 21st ) century conductors among German repertoire. More robust in his sound production supported by Brass and woodwind to Karajan. , Maybe. Te Kanawa magically transitions from low, middle to high voice seamlessly. Rare to find another singer in such control when it comes to cover wide range, besides Rene Fleming. I enjoy the pairing in the Strauss.
George Solti knew Richard Strauss well.He conducted Strauss' Funeral on the steps of the Munich Opera House.The three singers who sang the final Trio from Der Rosenkavalier there, broke down one by one.Solti carried on with just the orchestra,and the singers eventually came back together.Pauline De Ahna(Frau Strauss) died 8 moths later.
This is a digital version of this performance. One notices the sound breaking up here and there. The analog version in the original Laser Disk, which can be played either in digital mode or in analog mode, does not suffer from this digital imperfection in this case. Somebody has to remaster the original tape.
@MariaCaIIas know it's not usual at Lieder cycles to request da capo but at least after last performed Lied Im Abendrot at this evening being a Sternstunde it has to be! - being british or not :D
That’s so wrong. We have here the most wonderful example of collaboration, harmony and a deep connection. No idea what someone could mean by „no sympathy“ in this context.
I believe that the movie credits incorrectly state that "September" was the song used in "The Year of Living Dangerously" when it was actually "Into Slumber" (Beim Schlafengehen).
Good performance. Perhaps it's unfair to compare them (because one is a live performance, while the other is a studio recording), but I don't think anything comes close to the Kire Te Kanawa / Andrew Davis (LSO) collaboration of the Four Last Songs and other Lieder in the very early '80s.
@MariaCaIIas its common knowledge not to applaud between pieces of a cycle in a recital, but not a concert like this. they applauded between all the pieces, if you watch the others...what I was asking was why arent they freakin cheering!!?? mostly i was just being cute...love to you
@theblueangel28 I suppose you are being a bit sarcastic, as it is common knowledge among classic-concert-goers not to applaud at all in between songs of a cycle because it interrupts the feeling of the cycle... However, after this interpretation I honestly understand why they couldn't keep the "custom" and applauded... a little bit of wild cheering wouldn't be bad... but they are being "very british" there... I wouldn't... lol
Geht es noch schöner? Ich kenne die Aufnahmen von Lucia Popp, Gundula Janowitz, Jessye Norman und von Kiri mit Solti und die ältere mit Andrew Davis. Im Abendrot ist der Gipfel. Schöner geht nicht
The seduction is that you sing these songs in a full operatic voice. Kiri has succumbed to this temptation, yet it is not really appropriate. All 4 songs, different as they are, are moments of pause, of inner monlogue, reflective, never exuberant or dramatic. Now Jessye Norman, because of her voice, has inevitably sung these songs differently, there is nothing intimate any more, she literally cheers towards the approaching death. She's the only one I'll allow to do that, because she does it so stunningly that it almost sounds like it was meant to be. But it isn't. Probably Jannowitz, Schwarzkopf and della Casa come closest to the truth.
@@Altonahh10As I said, please spare us your arrogant, semi-literate,and obtuse opinions. I’m not sure where you get the power to “allow” Jessye Norman to sing that way. Does Strauss whisper these thoughts in your ear?
@@eugeneclasby518 I prefer not to respond to these kinds of comments anymore. Just one more thing: This is not a platform where others have to tell you what you can and cannot write. Above all, it is not a platform on which only fans can claim the truth for themselves and personally attack everyone who disagrees with them.
well it was lovely until that god awful violin solo. who let that guy into the orchestra? lel. it's a good tempo - kiri has such a beautiful, centered tone throughout. hot damn..
***** It seems you're outside your bailiwick. They're not lyrics, they're poems. Obviously this is beyond your ken. ( ... cf. Janowitz, Schwartzkopf, Norman, della Casa or Popp for a better interpretation.
In its entirety, this video has a companion rehearsal in which Dame Te Kanawa is being coached by Sir Solti. She certainly possesses much higher level understanding of the songs than any casual listener.
THis is bt far the most beautiful of the last 4 songs The lead violinist is absolutely marvelous
The Year of Living Dangerously brought me here.
I had not heard this composition in 40 years, since I first heard it in the famous picture The Year We Lived Dangerously. However I was so shocked that did not forget it.
Since my brother first introduced me (a very long time ago now) to music sung by Dame Kiri, I have listened to many recordings of the "Four Last Songs" and, to my mind, there is none to beat her utterly sublime voice. It is powerful when needed, and yet so gentle and soft in the quiet phases. Beim Schlafengehen and Im Abendrot remain my two very favourite of all her performances of any music.
What do you think of Jessey Norman's recording?
Una delle piu' belle esecuzioni Solti e' favoloso
A voice from the Gods. My favorite singer for life. My favorite tone poem from her - Strauss' Four Last Songs. Never tire of hearing it. She nails it every time.
I love both, Hesse's poem and Strauss' Lied and up to now I have not found an interpretation that came so close to what I expect as this one. Thank you Mrs TeKanawa, Mr Solti and especially the Konzertmeister, thank you...
In this piece she just exudes passion! In he film YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY, this music and this theme was used to the best effect possible in tragedy and triumph, even in death. The orchestral intro and support is superb
and, no matter how they tried, it was NOT replicated in Sir George's follow up.
I also met Dame Kiri once and she impressed me with her intellectual charm and grace. She is SO beautiful!
This is just glorious and the music seems to be written with her in mind. Her dynamic range is really on full display here. So beautiful!!! Thank you, Dame Kiri. You have blessed us with your glorious voice and time and talents. Much LOVE!!!!!
Absolutely! Brava, Georg Solti, Dame Te Kanawa, & musicians all
Strauss being at the end of his life brought a gift to the world with these four last songs. Cheer up even though life is passing by😉
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is superb in this, and it must help having the great Sir Georg Solti conducting. What a treat for the audience that night.
There have been MANY comments on Solti's ridiculously fast tempi for Ms Te Kanawa's concert and performances of these 4 last songs of Strauss. Folks do yourselves a favour and check out and study the music and you will find to your amazement that Maestro Solti has been brave and pedantic enough to insist on sticking to the tempi called for by Strauss and marked with metronome times! The good singers and interpreters are the ones who perform within the parameters set by the composers. BRAVA!
perfetto M Solti e Te Kanawa
The first time I ever heard this, at 2:46, the hair on the back of my neck literally started standing up.
Beautiful!💐💐💐💐💐
Superlative, superlative, superlative. Perfect. Thank you, Dame Kiri.
Absolutely one of her very best performances
I am surprised that nobody (in these comments) has mentioned Kiri's exceptional ability to change vocal sound quality which she not only marvellously demonstrates here (though overall sound quality is poor) but which in this case she is remarkably joining with perfect control and deep understanding of the words and music. Also, her German pronunciation is superb.
I don't know a lick of German.
Got no idea what she's on about.
But, I don't care!
One of the great performances of Strauss Four last songs here. Yummy wonderful Kiri and Solti-utterly beautiful singing indeed.
Merci Richard Strauss
Oh YES! The legato line that she sustains is sublime!
Perfect, beautiful sound. She knows how to sing. No question.
Wunderschoen....Herliche Dame Kiri Te Kanawa ❤❤❤❤❤❤
Words can't really convey how heavenly this music is. Incomparably beautiful!
Maybe it's just me, Kanawa's singing is simply more emotional and more personal, absolutely wonderful music.
Heavenly voice matched by a truly beautiful countenance.
Bravissimi... Fantastici 👏👏👏🌹🌹🌹😘
Love her kindness besides her greatness in all❤️❤️❤️
I adore her, & that ( deep "cassis" ?)coloured dress~elegant, exuding feminine pulchritude & also elegance & class, what a...Dame!..
So, Bravo!! And to Sir Georg.
A little bit of heaven right here on earth, praise be.
I wonder if even the angels weep when they hear this.
Big, beautiful sound.
The perfect voice and style for this music
Fabulous and up there with the best. I can’t remember the leader’s name, but he was excellent too!
Kiri Te Kanawa has more than a clue about this lied and how to perform it. Poetry, like any art, is open to interpretation. Some will like the interpretation, others will not. To my mind her interpretation of this poem is sensitive and exquisite, especially as this is a live performance and the demands of such cannot but have an effect. I've listened to dozens of recordings of this work by several sopranos. Te Kanawa's 1979 recording with Andrew Davis and the LSO is the only one that moves me to tears. (PS: An interpretation is an interpretation. Whether it is "better" or "worse" than any other is purely subjective. Ergo, it is pointless to try to debate the issue in such terms.)
Well said. Bravo.
davidhertzberg Yep. What you've written is very intelligent & absolutely nailed it. She's a great lady & one of my all time favourites. Call me baez :-)
After listening to several other interpretations they sound almost lazy to me. Dame Kiri sounds like champagne compared to the ginger ale of the others. I am nowhere near describable as an opera lover, but this woman transcends genre.
davidhertzberg I totally agree!
Very well stated and certainly valid but in this case I think you are utterly wrong...Madame Kiri Te Kanawa is in a category of one...incomparable. I do agree that this version is the one that always moves me to tears.
This is wonderful.
Bellísima Música de Strauss con la maravillosa voz de Kiri te Kanawa.
when this is all over and done
and provided I had an honorable life ~ which is all I ask for
I would be just grateful, to recapture the once in a lifetime emotional peak I unexpectedly felt that time
when the beauty beyond description strikes you
that this song is
that's all I ask for
Incredibly beautiful!
BEAUTIFUL! BRAVISSIMA!
Beautiful!
Te kanawa is a sovereign performer of Strauss lieder and opera. There is no question.
However, there are others.
breathtaking
sublime
Amazing! Wonderful! Brava!
Kiri’s voice PERFECTLY frames R. Strauss.
Sir. G. Solti is the Master in 20th( 21st ) century conductors among German repertoire. More robust in his sound production supported by Brass and woodwind to Karajan.
, Maybe.
Te Kanawa magically transitions from low, middle to high voice seamlessly. Rare to find another singer in such control when it comes to cover wide range, besides Rene Fleming.
I enjoy the pairing in the Strauss.
Absolutely beautiful
Wonderful
Beautiful
SUBLIME....My favourite with my all time "favourite"....
Duuuuuh......merindiiing dengernya....suara kok bisa kayak gini ya....lha ini yang namanya merdu....JUST BEAUTIFUL....can't get enough of her....
Absolutely glorious singing
MARAVILLOSA....
Beautiful
George Solti knew Richard Strauss well.He conducted Strauss' Funeral on the steps of the Munich Opera House.The three singers who sang the final Trio from Der Rosenkavalier there, broke down one by one.Solti carried on with just the orchestra,and the singers eventually came back together.Pauline De Ahna(Frau Strauss) died 8 moths later.
Thank you for this wonderful account.
This is a digital version of this performance. One notices the sound breaking up here and there. The analog version in the original Laser Disk, which can be played either in digital mode or in analog mode, does not suffer from this digital imperfection in this case. Somebody has to remaster the original tape.
simply divine
@MariaCaIIas know it's not usual at Lieder cycles to request da capo but at least after last performed Lied Im Abendrot at this evening being a Sternstunde it has to be! - being british or not :D
magnifique
Singer and orchestra operating independently of each other. Listened to in isolation, she's divine and the music exquisite. Together? Zero sympathy.
That’s so wrong. We have here the most wonderful example of collaboration, harmony and a deep connection. No idea what someone could mean by „no sympathy“ in this context.
Muito lindo.
Read my comment above about the tempi of these 4 last songs that Dame Kiri performed and recorded with Sir Georg Solti.
audio is poor, but this is verry good interpretation
I believe that the movie credits incorrectly state that "September" was the song used in "The Year of Living Dangerously" when it was actually "Into Slumber" (Beim Schlafengehen).
You are correct.
I agree - nothing indulgent and pure beautiful line!
😍😍😍😍😍
Good performance. Perhaps it's unfair to compare them (because one is a live performance, while the other is a studio recording), but I don't think anything comes close to the Kire Te Kanawa / Andrew Davis (LSO) collaboration of the Four Last Songs and other Lieder in the very early '80s.
I agree completely.
I discovered this and "Beautiful Ohio" from watching "The Year of Living Dangerously."
Downton Abbey brought me here.
BEAUTY reveals from WITHIN.
2:40 nice effect
Ottimo
@MariaCaIIas its common knowledge not to applaud between pieces of a cycle in a recital, but not a concert like this. they applauded between all the pieces, if you watch the others...what I was asking was why arent they freakin cheering!!??
mostly i was just being cute...love to you
From " The Year of Living Dangerously."
Music as if created with smokeless fire. Dipa and Jeewa.
This song is just too fast---but still breathtaking!!
Arrepiante!
légèreté beauté
why isnt the crown cheering..is it one of those customs i dont know anything about?
Shes the shit!!!!
End of!
@theblueangel28 I suppose you are being a bit sarcastic, as it is common knowledge among classic-concert-goers not to applaud at all in between songs of a cycle because it interrupts the feeling of the cycle...
However, after this interpretation I honestly understand why they couldn't keep the "custom" and applauded... a little bit of wild cheering wouldn't be bad... but they are being "very british" there... I wouldn't... lol
Who is playing the violin solo?
I don't know a lick of German.
Got no idea what she's on about.
But I don't care!
She obviously ran out of breath at 4:12. She ran out of breath several times in this song cycle.
+Dont touch my pussy Wow, she totally did. I bet she was mortified; I would be.
A legszebb mit valaha hallottam
This rendition did not come close, by a wide margin, to the version by Jessye Norman with Jurt Masur and Gewandhausorchester
Kurt Masur.
There certainly is a wide margin between the two. I just won't agree with you as to which one is better. lol
Geht es noch schöner? Ich kenne die Aufnahmen von Lucia Popp, Gundula Janowitz, Jessye Norman und von Kiri mit Solti und die ältere mit Andrew Davis. Im Abendrot ist der Gipfel. Schöner geht nicht
Tempo too fast for me
She was obviously at the very height of her vocal prowess here. But starting in the 1990's, her voice deteriorated very quickly.
Nonsense.
The seduction is that you sing these songs in a full operatic voice. Kiri has succumbed to this temptation, yet it is not really appropriate. All 4 songs, different as they are, are moments of pause, of inner monlogue, reflective, never exuberant or dramatic. Now Jessye Norman, because of her voice, has inevitably sung these songs differently, there is nothing intimate any more, she literally cheers towards the approaching death. She's the only one I'll allow to do that, because she does it so stunningly that it almost sounds like it was meant to be. But it isn't. Probably Jannowitz, Schwarzkopf and della Casa come closest to the truth.
Such a critic. Spare us, please, your overwrought opinions.
@@eugeneclasby518 Deal with it.
@@Altonahh10As I said, please spare us your arrogant, semi-literate,and obtuse opinions. I’m not sure where you get the power to “allow” Jessye Norman to sing that way. Does Strauss whisper these thoughts in your ear?
@@eugeneclasby518 I prefer not to respond to these kinds of comments anymore. Just one more thing: This is not a platform where others have to tell you what you can and cannot write. Above all, it is not a platform on which only fans can claim the truth for themselves and personally attack everyone who disagrees with them.
well it was lovely until that god awful violin solo. who let that guy into the orchestra? lel. it's a good tempo - kiri has such a beautiful, centered tone throughout. hot damn..
What was awful about it?
Pretty sound, but she doesn't have a clue about these songs.
***** It seems you're outside your bailiwick. They're not lyrics, they're poems. Obviously this is beyond your ken. ( ... cf. Janowitz, Schwartzkopf, Norman, della Casa or Popp for a better interpretation.
In its entirety, this video has a companion rehearsal in which Dame Te Kanawa is being coached by Sir Solti. She certainly possesses much higher level understanding of the songs than any casual listener.
+Miles Montemore I agree but I can forgive nearly as the sound is so indescribably gorogeous.
Bellísima Música de R. Strauss, y la maravillosa voz de Kiri te Kanawa.
Muito lindo.