Don Quixote (Strauss)

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Don Quixote, op. 35, is a composition by Richard Strauss for cello, viola and large orchestra. Subtitled "Phantastische Variationen über ein Thema ritterlichen Charakters" ("Fantastic Variations on a Theme of Knightly Character"), the work is based on the novel Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. Strauss composed this work in Munich in 1897. The premiere took place in Cologne on 8 March 1898, with Friedrich Grützmacher as the cello soloist and Franz Wüllner as the conductor.[1]

The score is of 758 measures duration and is written in Sinfonia concertante form, with the solo cello representing Don Quixote, the bass clarinet and tenor tuba depicting the comic Sancho Panza, and the solo viola depicting Don Quixote's horse Rosinante. The second variation depicts an episode where Don Quixote encounters a herd of sheep and perceives them as an approaching army. Strauss uses dissonant fluttertonguing in the brass to emulate the bleating of the sheep, an early instance of this extended technique. Strauss later quoted this passage in his music for Le Bourgeois gentilhomme, at the moment a servant announces the dish of "leg of mutton in the Italian style".[2]

Graham Phipps has analysed the first 160 measures of the work, covering the introduction and the double theme referencing Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, as well as generally reviewing the work.[3]

[edit] Instrumentation

The work is scored for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, Cor Anglais, 2 clarinets in B-flat (2nd doubles clarinet in E-flat), bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 6 horns in F, 3 trumpets in D, 3 trombones, tenor tuba (euphonium) in B-flat, tuba, timpani, triangle, bass drum, cymbals, snare drum, tambourine, wind machine, harp and strings.

[edit] Sections

  1. Introduction: Mäßiges Zeitmaß. Thema mäßig. "Don Quichotte verliert über der Lektüre der Ritterromane seinen Verstand und beschließt, selbst fahrender Ritter zu werden" ("Don Quixote loses his sanity after reading novels about knights, and decides to become a knight-errant")
  2. Theme: Mäßig. "Don Quichotte, der Ritter von der traurigen Gestalt" ("Don Quixote, knight of the sorrowful countenance")
  3. Maggiore: "Sancho Panza"
  4. Variation I: Gemächlich. "Abenteuer an den Windmühlen" ("Adventure at the Windmills")
  5. Variation II: Kriegerisch. "Der siegreiche Kampf gegen das Heer des großen Kaisers Alifanfaron" ("The victorious struggle against the army of the great emperor Alifanfaron")
  6. Variation III: Mäßiges Zeitmaß. "Gespräch zwischen Ritter und Knappen" ("Dialogue between Knight and Squire")
  7. Variation IV: Etwas breiter. "Unglückliches Abenteuer mit einer Prozession von Büßern" ("Unhappy adventure with a procession of pilgrims")
  8. Variation V: Sehr langsam. "Die Waffenwache" ("The knight's vigil")
  9. Variation VI: Schnell. "Begegnung mit Dulzinea" ("The Meeting with Dulcinea")
  10. Variation VII: Ein wenig ruhiger als vorher. "Der Ritt durch die Luft" ("The Ride through the Air")
  11. Variation VIII: Gemächlich. "Die unglückliche Fahrt auf dem venezianischen Nachen" ("The Voyage in the Enchanted Boat")
  12. Variation IX: Schnell und stürmisch. "Kampf gegen vermeintliche Zauberer" ("Battle with the magicians")
  13. Variation X: Viel breiter. "Zweikampf mit dem Ritter vom blanken Mond" ("Two battles with the knights of the bright moon")
  14. Finale: Sehr ruhig. "Wieder zur Besinnung gekommen" ("Reflections to come" - Death of Don Quixote)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Mark-Daniel Schmid, The Richard Strauss Companion. Praeger (Westport, Connecticut, USA; 2003), p. 111 (ISBN 0313279012).
  2. ^ Keppler, Jr., Philip (1956). "Some Comments on Musical Quotation". The Musical Quarterly XLII (4): 473–485. doi:10.1093/mq/XLII.4.473. 
  3. ^ Graham H. Phipps, "The Logic of Tonality in Strauss's Don Quixote: A Schoenbergian Evaluation" (Spring 1986). 19th-Century Music, 9 (3): pp. 189-205.