Donald Macleod introduces two operas that emerged from the most fruitful partnership of Strauss's operatic career, with the Austrian poet and dramatist Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Show more

Donald Macleod introduces works from Strauss's final years: one an overwhelming expression of grief, the other the crowning achievement of a life devoted to the human voice. Show more

Donald Macleod focuses on figures who played a key role in Strauss's early career, including his father, conductor Hans von Bulow, violinist Alexander Ritter and his wife, Pauline. Show more

Donald Macleod introduces the songs Strauss wrote for his wife as a wedding present, his first operatic success and the ever-popular tone poem about a famous prankster. Show more

Donald Macleod introduces music from three important operas, written between the wars, when Strauss found himself drawn into the Nazi party's propaganda machine. Show more