(Georg) (1864-1949) German composer and conductor. He followed the German Romantic tradition but had a strongly personal style, characterized by his bold, colorful orchestration. He first wrote tone poems such as Don Juan 1889, Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks 1895, and Also sprach Zarathustra/Thus Spake Zarathustra 1896. He then moved on to opera with Salome 1905 and Elektra 1909, both of which have elements of polytonality. He reverted to a more traditional style with Der Rosenkavalier/The Knight of the Rose 1909–10.
He spent his final years in the US, teaching and composing at the Eastman School of Music in New York.

(Baptist) (1825-1899)
Austrian conductor and composer. He was the son of composer Johann Strauss (1804–1849). In 1872 he gave up conducting and wrote operettas, such as Die Fledermaus/The Flittermouse 1874, and numerous waltzes, such as The Blue Danube and Tales from the Vienna Woods, which gained him the title “the Waltz King”.

(1915-1988) German conservative politician, leader of the West German Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) party 1961–88, premier of Bavaria 1978–88.
Born and educated in Munich, Strauss, after military service 1939–45, joined the CSU and was elected to the Bundestag (parliament) in 1949. He held ministerial posts during the 1950s and 1960s and became leader of the CSU 1961. In 1962 he lost his post as minister of defense when he illegally shut down the offices of Der Spiegel for a month, after the magazine revealed details of a failed NATO exercise. In the 1970s, Strauss opposed Ostpolitik (the policy of reconciliation with the East). He left the Bundestag to become premier of Bavaria in 1978, and was heavily defeated in 1980 as chancellor candidate. From 1982 Strauss sought to force changes in economic and foreign policy of the coalition under Chancellor Kohl.

(1944-) German dramatist and critic. His stark plays focus on problems of identity and the disintegration of personality. They include Big and Little 1978 and The Park 1984, his adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.