at one time in college i started listening to richard strauss because i found out that his four last songs were nohrnberg's favourite piece in all the world, and i had to find out why. last week because of yvonne's entry of thursday last i sat down to listen to strauss's metamorphosen. i was especially fortunate to have found the version with the berlin philharmonic conducted by herbert von karajan. i passed through dresden once, but the impact was lost then - was it disorientation, jetlag, ignorance, youthful impatience? but the experience went through me without rustling awake any emotion. and now, knowing what i know, listening to the piece is a weighty enterprise.

am listening to the four last songs again: "how weary we are of wandering; is this perhaps death?" yvonne linked to charles hazlewood of radio 3 and his exploration of the metamorphosen; i'm adding hazlewood's program on the four last songs here.

oh and i found a side-by-side translation of the four last songs.

listen.