One of the twentieth century's most celebrated composers, Richard Strauss created a series of tone poems that belong to the standard repertoire of almost every symphony orchestra in the world: Don Juan, Till Eulenspiegel, Don Quixote, and this work, Ein Heldenleben. At the center of the story stands Strauss himself, in a thinly disguised self-portrait of a besieged composer who goes to war with the music critics. Ein Heldenleben calls for a huge orchestra, including eight horns, five trumpets, quadruple woodwinds, and a powerful complement of percussion and strings. Unabridged republication of the edition originally published by F.E.C. Leuckart, Leipzig.