Strauss’s successful tenure in Berlin (1898–1918) is closely tied to the cultural environment of the German capital, where the local artistic sphere provided ideas, contacts, and opportunities that enabled him to develop professionally. This chapter explores the rise of Berlin during the nineteenth century as a key urban center, while documenting the city’s cultural panorama. It discusses the city’s most important musical institutions and summarizes characteristic aspects of its musical life, examining Strauss’s role in the broader art scene through his personal links and institutional affiliations. As modernist tendencies at the turn of the century conflicted with traditional ideals, Strauss emerged as a figure who, as a servant of the court but also a modernist, was able to reconcile these conflicting views.