Antonio Pappano conducts the Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in two early works by Richard Strauss: the *Burleske* for piano and orchestra, a rarity in the repertoire, with Bertrand Chamayou as soloist, and the symphonic poem A Hero’s Life, one of the composer’s orchestral masterpieces. Composed when Strauss was barely twenty years old, the *Burleske* bears the influence of Brahms, Schumann and Liszt. Chamayou recognises in it the mercurial spirit shared by Schumann and Liszt – a piece full of surprises and humour.