Strauss looks back on his glorious career in song and in a magnificent tone poem. Filled with some of his most gorgeous melodies, his Four Last Songs contemplate life’s autumnal days and even quotes Death and Transfiguration, an orchestral work from decades before. Strauss also quotes earlier works in his sumptuously scored Ein Heldenleben, one of the most beloved works in the orchestral repertoire. In addition to the nostalgic passages, there’s the famous battle with critics and spectacular music that inspired generations of Hollywood composers.