Richard Strauss

The son of musician Franz Joseph Strauss and his wife Josephine began composing at the age of six, and by his 18th birthday he had already written around 140 pieces, including almost 60 songs and over 40 piano works. His stellar career began in 1881 with his opus 1, the Festive March for large orchestra. In 1886, Strauss took up a position as third conductor at the Court Opera in his hometown of Munich. There he had time to deepen his repertoire. In the following four years, he composed numerous songs, including Ständchen op. 17,2, which was published by Carus-Verlag together with Von dunklem Schleier umsponnen op. 17,4 and Nicht im Schlafe hab ich das geträumt op. 48,1. In 1905 and many song compositions later, the already celebrated Richard Strauss also wrote a success story with an opera. The opera adaptation of Oscar Wild's Salome, whose text Strauss himself translated into German, is regarded by his fans as the epitome of modern opera music.