Richard Strauss is one of the most frequently performed opera composers worldwide. In a distinctive manner, he combined the sublime with the trivial, the extraordinary with the ordinary. However, his life was also full of difficult-to-resolve contradictions. In his authoritative, well-written biography, Strauss expert Bryan Gilliam portrays the life and work of the composer at the dawn of modernity. Richard Strauss embodied a different kind of modernity than the slightly younger Arnold Schönberg with his twelve-tone music. Bryan Gilliam illustrates how Strauss developed an entirely new musical language in his operas and symphonic works, his chamber music, and his songs. He brings to life the environment of friends, family, and mentors, describes the complex relationship with Richard Wagner, and the collaboration with Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Strauss' most important opera librettist.