Renee Fleming - Strauss' 4 Last Songs - September

[deheerbeek]

What an incredible voice. Absolutely stunning. He, who doesn't like this, has not the faintest idea of how beauty sounds.

[rccowart]

If you watch Renee sing this, she sings it all from her heart. She is definately unique in her interpretation - but that to me what makes it so completely astounding

[karasik41]

Шикарная певица!

[MrAndredekock]

It is strange to me that Fleming is an excellent exponent of Strauss opera and yet here she totally misses the mark and flops big time! I can't put my finger on it, but it may be that she is trying to operafy lieder and it doesn't work. Listen to Te Kanawa and Norman here on You Tube and hear their glorious renditions, which capture all the pathos, the passion, the joy and the pain of growing old and even in their youth they are able to portray what Strauss is conveying, but not Fleming.

[HU1914]

Absolutlely Beautifully executed!!!

[jogejoge11]

As a singer, she is great, I am a voice couch and she is almost perfect

[blauauge2]

@lamusicahera you are absolutly right !!!!

[MDBeatles]

horn solo knocks me dead every single time.simply outstanding

[emma4557]

the horn solo.....

what can i say... simply beautiful :) <3 it gives me goose bumps..

[bobareebop]

Oh, that ascending line at 3:03! That Strauss, at age 84, had music like this left in him, is just astounding. At 4:09 I noticed that Fleming, unlike Popp, does not repeat the word "mudgewordnen" but instead goes right to "augen zu". I wonder how it's written?

[osoondo1]

La luz de tu mirada me acarícia el alma como esta musica.

[geulietta]

THE BEST !!!!

[adasilva26]

Strauss is a freaking genious! This is one of the most beautiful pieces of music I have EVER heard! Absolutely just made me cry from my soul!

[Brunildilla]

Uffff....no way....

Gundula Janowicz or Jesse Norman..

Who say that she sing ...?

I think she beleved it she sing but maybe she has try another profession....

Psssss........

[jensmom604]

Beautiful song and music.

[whigwood]

........and don't forget Jessye Norman.

[Tonioo84]

If you woulld only try to listen and enjoy a bit more in both this music and the beauty of her voice and performance instead of trying to judge everything and everyone you might actually realise how beautiful this is in its own way - AS A SINGER, I CAN ONLY SAY THAT EVERY BIRD SINGS WITH ITS OWN VOICE AND HERS IS SPECIAL AND UNIQUE!!!

[emmalanoire]

@Tonioo84 I agree with you. Renée Fleming is an extraordinary woman and musician, her sensitivity is so perfectly rendered in her singing, it makes me shiver every time. True her voice can sound surprising to some people, but it is absolutely beautiful also because of this strangeness.

The combination of this amazing music and her voice is, to me, one of the best renditions of what the language of the soul is.

[wally5353]

There are so many fabulous recordings of these songs, I'm afraid Renée isn't really up to her competition. If you like this, listen to Schwarzkopf (two versions), Janowitz (with Karajan), or Lucia Popp.

[SatanAteMySocks]

You're quite right. Nobody who heared Janowitz sing these songs can really like Flemming's interpretation.

[LilMack549]

You stand corrected ;)...Gundula Janowitz's recording is my favorite.

And I LOVE all of Renee Fleming's interpretations of the work. Her two recordings along with her work here and with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Eschenbach at Carnegie Hall in 2004.

They are certainly different, and I have my reasons why Janowitz is my favorite...but Renee Flemings are, musically, so intelligent that I can't help but be moved by them.

[pritsch2]

If you haven't yet you should have a listen to Renée's latest recording of the 4 last songs just released this year. In my opinion it's the best recording available.

[bobsopera]

"a kind of opiated delirium" well said!

[Gurdow]

That french horn, from 4:30-around 4:55 is absolutely gorgeous. That is perfect. You probably do not have a soul if that doesn't touch you.

[davepipe]

With the superb partnership of Maestro Christoph Eschenbach, Madame Fleming's artistry is fully realized.

[swm0925]

I don't know about all the technical "stuff;" I just know what moves and grooves with me, and Fleming does it for me. That one had me on my knees. Lord, that woman makes me weak.

[Azzenstudent]

Fleming's inflections are fine although the tempo frequently challenge the naturalness of her expression. This music is very sensual and that can be a hazard if the lines are extended into a kind of opiated delium. Strauss bothers some people because you're never quite sure what he wants to communicate: the rapture in the lyric or the profligate skill of his musical palette. Kudos to Fleming for almost making it seem irrelevant.