II.

Symphonic Poems

In his second period (1887-1904), during which he achieved his mastery of orchestration, Strauss made his notable contribution to the repertory of program music. He developed the symphonic poem to a high degree and utilized the leitmotiv system (the use of recurrent themes with specified extramusical associations) that was developed by the German composer Richard Wagner. He also made innovations in harmony and instrumentation, greatly expanding the expressive possibilities of the modern symphony orchestra. These works included Don Juan (1888), Macbeth (1890), Tod und Verklärung (Death and Transfiguration, 1890), Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche (Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks, 1895), Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spoke Zarathustra, 1896), Don Quixote (1897), and Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life, 1898).