German composer and orchestra director (1864–1949)
Richard Strauss (June 11, 1864 – September 8, 1949) was a German (Bavarian) composer of classical music and conductor. His music has always been popular: both in the concert hall and on recordings. He is perhaps best known nowadays for his Operas, of which Salome, Elektra, Der Rosenkavalier, Ariadne auf Naxos are the most frequently performed. He was also a composer of symphonic works such as Thus Spake Zarathustra and A Hero's Life. He wrote many songs for solo voice with piano or orchestra, including Four Last Songs, Tomorrow! and Rest, my soul!. He was awarded Honorary Doctorates at the Universities of Heidelberg (1903) and Oxford (1913) and awarded the French Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur Croix de Chevalier (1907) and Officier (1913). He conducted throughout his adult life, and made many recordings of his own compositions from 1918 to 1947. His last public concert was on 19 October 1947 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, where he conducted the Philharmonia orchestra in a program of his works. His music has inspired many composers, including Béla Bartók, Edward Elgar, Benjamin Britten and also Hollywood composers such as Max Steiner and John Williams. His best known music is the opening to Thus Spake Zarathustra, which became one of best known pieces of film music when Stanley Kubrick used it in his film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
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