three years he was now occupied with the rather thankless task of conducting lesser operatic performances, but devoted himself none the less with untiring effort to the development of his creative talents, which bore fruit in "Macbeth," "Don Juan" and "Tod und Verklärung." In 1889 he was called to the Weimar Opera, first as subordinate to Lassen, eventually as full-empowered potentate. He there married one of the operatic singers, Pauline de Ahne, daughter of a Bavarian general. While at Weimar he wrote his first opera, "Guntram." In 1894 Strauss returned to the Munich Opera in a capacity more responsible than formerly. His services as a conductor of unusual ability were by this time much in demand for special concert performances in European musical centres. The atmosphere of his native city must have been particularly inspiring to his creative Muse, for from 1894 to 1899 no less than four mighty orchestral works emanated from his pen--"Till Eulenspiegel," "Also sprach Zarathustra," "Don Quixote," "Ein Heldenleben." In 1899 he was called to the Berlin Opera as an associate with Muck. It is here that he at present wields the baton with unflagging zeal, in spite of his restless activity as a composer. Thus far his most important contributions to the twentieth century have been the opera "Feuersnoth" and the "Symphonia Domestica."[65] [Footnote 65: See footnote on page 118 in reference to "Salome."] Such are the biographical outlines of an epoch-making composer, an eminent conductor, and a well-trained pianist who has but entered upon the fifth decade of his lifetime. Before proceeding to an examination of the aims and ideals that are at the root of Strauss' huge orchestral conceptions, some comparisons between him and his predecessors as suggested by Richard Aldrich will bear citation:--