A Hero's Life

Criticized for making himself the hero of Ein Heldenleben (“A Hero’s Life”), composer Richard Strauss nevertheless took pride in the piece, which is featured in a Cleveland Orchestra concert that also includes the Love-Death music from Wagner’s opera Tristan and Isolde and French composer Ernest Chausson’s Poem of Love and the Sea. Tonight at 7:30 at Severance Hall, the orchestra performs this program. The concert repeats at 11 a.m. tomorrow (minus the Chausson piece) and at 8 p.m. on Saturday. A pre-concert talk takes place an hour before the concerts, in Reinberger Chamber Hall. Tickets start at $29. (Niesel)