This revealing biography examines the life and works of the influential German composer Richard Strauss (18641949), whose evocative tone poems and beautifully crafted operas have been somewhat tainted in the publics imagination following claims that the composer was a Nazi sympathizer. Strausss compositions also courted controversy, in particular his setting of Oscar Wildes outrageous play Salome. In this book Tim Ashley delves beneath Strausss public persona, in order to further understand the truth behind the myths, and the ways in which the composers personality and private life influenced his often sublime music.