Erik Ryding and Rebecca Pechefsky tell of Walter?s close friendship with Gustav Mahler, his relations with Thomas Mann and his family, and his romantic involvement with the soprano Delia Reinhardt. Ousted from Germany by the Nazi Party in 1933, he returned to Vienna, where he was artistic director of the State Opera until the Nazis again forced him out. He eventually emigrated to the United States, where he led the New York Philharmonic and other orchestras, developed a deep interest in the writings of Rudolf Steiner, and made touchstone recordings with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra.