In his symphonic poem Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life), Richard Strauss portrays himself: the artist in love, the heroic creator, the genius grappling with the world. It is also, more than a century later, a metaphor for our time, of the heroes we collectively shape and the role we assign them in all spheres of life. Rafael Payare and the OSM are perfectly at home in this magnificent work, as evidenced by their recent recording. In the first half, Marie-Nicole Lemieux delivers one of the finest examples of her art, the irresistible Les Nuits d’été, in which she remains unsurpassed.