Today In History; First Performance of Strauss's Ballet Josephslegende

1914: Richard Georg Strauss' first ballet, Josephslegende (Legend of Joseph), was first performed in Paris. The ballet was based on the biblical story of Joseph and was considered one of Strauss's more opulent and striking scores. Born in Bavaria, Richard Strauss demonstrated his musical genius at an early age. He began playing the piano at age 4 and composing by age 6; by age 21 Strauss was conducting. The German classical music composer was best known for his tone poems and operas. Among his most famous works are the operas Salome (1905) and Der Rosenkavalier (The Rose Cavalier, 1911) and the orchestral tone poem Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spake Zarathustra, 1896).