Strauss had come across the poem Im Abendrot by Joseph von Eichendorff, which he felt had a special meaning for him. He set its text to music in May 1948. Strauss had also recently been given a copy of the complete poems of Hermann Hesse and was strongly inspired by them. He set three of them – Frühling, September, and Beim Schlafengehen – for soprano and orchestra, and contemplated setting two more, Nacht and Hohe des Sommers, in the same manner. He also embarked on a choral setting of Hesse's Besinnung, but laid it aside after the projected fugue became "too complicated".

Original Name 4 letzte Lieder
Librettist Hermann Hesse; Joseph von Eichendorff
Date of composition 1948
Premiered 1950, May 22nd in London, United Kingdom by Wilhelm Furtwängler
First published 1950
Type Lieder
Catalogue TrV 296
Approx. duration 18 minutes
Instruments Voice (Soprano)
Orchestra
Autotranslations beta Richard Strauss: 4 Last Songs, TrV 296
Richard Strauss: 4 Last Songs, TrV 296
Richard Strauss: 4 Last Songs, TrV 296