From the autobiographical opera, Intermezzo, based on a domestic misunderstanding, to the self-confident tone poem, Ein Heldenleben, Richard Strauss's works related to his personal experience as closely as any 19th-century romantic. This is a portrait of the man and his music. A large number of the illustrations are taken from the private archive of the Strauss family. They are woven around the text, which features anecdotes, quotations and personal reminiscences by members of the Strauss family and contemporaries. The result is an intimate investigation of the private life, opinions, background and works of Strauss.