Richard Strauss Don Quixote for Cello Solo

Classical Music / Music for Cello

Richard Strauss's Don Quixote, for cello solo and orchestra first performed, 8th March 1898.

Don Quixote, Op. 35, is a composition by Richard Strauss for cello, viola and orchestra.  It is subtitled Phantastische Variationen über ein Thema ritterlichen Charakters (Fantastic Variations on a Theme of Knightly Character), based on the famous novel Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes.  Strauss composed this work in Munich in 1897, and the first performance took place in Cologne on 8 March 1898, conducted by Franz Wüllner with Friedrich Grützmacher as the cello soloist. 

 

Video:  Strauss: Don Quixote (Finale) / Rostropovich · Karajan · Berliner Philharmoniker


The orchestral score is 45 minutes long, written in theme and variations form, with the solo cello representing  Don Quixote, and the solo viola and tenor tuba depicting the comic Sancho Panza, Don Quixote's squire. The second variation depicts an episode where Don Quixote encounters a herd of sheep and perceives them as an approaching army. All "episodes" are taken directly from the novel of Cervantes.

 
Sections of Strauss Don Quixote:

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") [actually a flock of sheep]


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 unhappy 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" ("Duel with the knight of the bright moon")


14. Finale: Sehr ruhig. "Wieder zur Besinnung gekommen" ("Coming to his senses again" – Death of Don Quixote)

The work is scored for orchestra with the following instruments:

• woodwinds: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets in B-flat (2nd doubling clarinet in E-flat), bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon

• brass: 6 horns in F, 3 trumpets in D and F, 3 trombones, tenor tuba in B-flat (also known as the euphonium), tuba

• percussion: timpani, bass drum, snare drum, cymbals, triangle, tambourine, wind machine

• strings: harp, violins i, ii, violas (including an extensive solo viola part), violoncellos (including an extensive solo violoncello part), double basses. 

 

Video Credit:

 Strauss Don Quixote (Finale), with Rostropovich, Maestro Karajan conducting Berliner Philharmoniker. YouTube, accessed March 8, 2020.

Resources:

• Latham, Alison, Ed.,  The Oxford Companion to Music.  Oxford University Press (Oxford;  2002)
• Schmid, Mark-Daniel, The Richard Strauss Companion. Praeger (Westport, Connecticut, USA; 2003)

 

(c) March 2016. Updated February 5, 2024. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.