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Richard Strauss

(1864-1949)

Don Juan (1888)

PROGRAM NOTES  AND COMMENTARY

When Don Juan premiered in Weimar on November 11, 1889, the audience witnessed something extraordinary: the arrival of a 25-year-old composer who would change the course of orchestral music. Until that moment, Richard Strauss had been known mainly as a gifted conductor and as a disciple of the late-Romantic symphonic tradition. With Don Juan, he leapt into his own daring voice — brilliant, audacious, and unmistakably modern….

Richard Strauss at the time of Don Juan (1888)

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Major Works of Richard Strauss

TONE POEMS FOR ORCHESTRA

1886

1888

1888

1889

1895

1896

1897

1898

1903

1914


Aus Italien

Macbeth

Don Juan

Tod und Verklärung

Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche

Also sprach Zarathustra

Don Quixote

Ein Heldenleben

Symphonia Domestica

Eine Alpensinfonie

Q&A

Quiz yourself on facts about Strauss

The Musical Scene

in the 1880s

An in-depth look at some of Strauss's contemporaries working in the decade of the 1880s. What did Strauss think of these composers' works and what did they think of Srauss's music? It's all here!

A STRAUSS PHOTO ALBUM

A selection of photos and caricatures spanning the entire career of Richard Strauss, replete with fascinating biographical information on the composer.

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Commentary:

The Development of the Symphonic Poem

OPERAS

1893

1901

1905

1908

1910

1916

1918

1923

1927

1932

1934

1936

1937

1940

1941

OTHER ORCHESTRAL WORKS

1876

1881

1884 

1883

1884

1886

1942

1945

1947

1945

1948


Guntram

Feuersnot

Salome

Elektra

Der Rosenkavalier

Ariadne auf Naxos

Die Frau ohne Schatten

Intermezzo

Die ägyptische Helena

Arabella

Die Schweigsame Frau

Friedenstag

Daphne

Die Liebe der Danae

Capriccio


Festival March

Serenade for Wind Instruments in E-flat Major

Suite for Wind Instruments in B-flat 

Horn Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major

Symphony in F Minor

Burlesque for Piano and Orchestra

Horn Concerto No. 2 in E-flat Major

Oboe Concerto in D Major

Duet-Concertino for Clarinet and Bassoon

Metamorphosen for 23 Solo Strings

Four Last Songs for Soprano and Orchestra

STRAUSS ON MUSIC

Here are some famous and not-so-famous quotes by the composer, giving an idea of his views on music and his colleagues.

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CYS Performance History:

Works by Richard Strauss

CYS has been regularly playing the works of Strauss for the last 33 years. Listed below is the performance history:

• Death and Transfiguration (1992)

• Don Juan (1998, 2005, 2014, 2025)

• Don Quixote (1994, 2019)

• Der Rosenkavalier Suite (1994, 2007, 2012, 2022)

• Dance of the Seven Veils from Salome (2004, 2010, 2023)

• Feierlicher Einzug (2017)

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