Also sprach Zarathustra is an orchestral tone poem by German composer Richard Strauss, composed in 1896. The work exemplifies late-Romantic orchestral writing through expansive brass fanfares, richly chromatic harmonies and inventive orchestral colour used to evoke Nietzschean philosophical themes, and it occupies a central place in Strauss's output as a large-scale programme piece that shaped his career in orchestral music.
