Strauss’ Four Last Songs

‘I am the new Bacchus, pressing out glorious wine for the human spirit’: Ludwig van Beethoven never pulled his punches, but until you’ve heard his Seventh Symphony in full flight, you’ve never known just how intoxicating music can be. That’s just the climax to a whole concert that takes aim straight at the emotions. At the end of a long life, Richard Strauss poured all the colours of the sunset into his heart-rending Four Last Songs – they’re a favourite on Desert Island Discs, and when they’re sung by the glorious voice of soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha, you’ll understand why. Conductor Kevin John Edusei launches the evening with a vision of beauty from Canadian composer Samy Moussa, inspired by the magnificent landscape of the Caucasus Mountains.

’South African soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha sang with creamy tone, enviable diction and a commanding confidence as she hurled forth a battery of gleaming top notes.’ The Guardian, February 2025