Ein Heldenleben op. 40

Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40 is a tone poem for orchestra by Richard Strauss, composed in 1898. The work is a large-scale example of late-Romantic programme music, characterised by expansive orchestration, richly chromatic harmony and thematic transformation that depict episodes of a hero's life, and it occupies a prominent place in Strauss's output and the symphonic-poem tradition.