Four Last Songs, TrV296, WoO150

The Four Last Songs (German: Vier letzte Lieder), Op. posth., for soprano and orchestra were composed in 1948 when Richard Strauss was 84. They are – with the exception of the song "Malven" (Mallows), composed later the same year – Strauss' final completed works. The songs are "Frühling" (Spring), "September", "Beim Schlafengehen" (When Falling Asleep) and "Im Abendrot" (At Sunset). The title Four Last Songs was provided posthumously by Strauss's friend Ernst Roth, who published the four songs as a single unit in 1950 after Strauss's death. Strauss died in September 1949.