Richard Strauss’ tone poems represent the zenith of orchestral storytelling, and in Ein Heldenleben, the story gets personal. Over the course of fifty vivid minutes, Strauss sketches a musical self-portrait of a composer battling critics, finding lifelong love, contemplating his musical successes and ultimately settling into a vision of hard-won peace. Join Jeff and Carol for a Deep Dive into this epic work, as they share the history behind the work, and examine whether Ein Heldenleben is full of self-deprecating irony or a composer’s ultimate ego trip.

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USUO’s Ghost Light podcast is written, hosted, and produced by Jeff Counts and Carol Anderson.