Kennedy deals fully with Strauss's life as leading composer and national figure in the Third Reich, during which he was both feted and cold-shouldered by the authorities. In putting this period into perspective he draws heavily on hitherto ignored material, including Strauss's own letters and diaries. In addition he reveals much about Strauss's long, happy but tempestuous marriage to the soprano Pauline de Ahna as well as tracing the important relationships to his librettists Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Stefan Zweig, Joseph Gregor and Clemens Krauss. From Kennedy's probing reassessment of the man and the music, a picture emerges of a level-headed, practical and extremely versatile musician - a great conductor as well as a great composer.

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