Richard Strauss - Don Juan - Eine Alpensinfonie... Apr 2026

At just 24 years old, Strauss premiered Don Juan , a work so technically demanding and "graphically suggestive" that it scandalized 19th-century audiences. Based on Nikolaus Lenau's retelling of the legend, the piece is not a mere list of conquests but a psychological study of heroism, love, and eventual disillusionment.

: Strauss utilizes a dashing, upward-bounding theme in the strings to represent the hero’s insatiable spirit. He masterfully intersperses these energetic moments with lyrical sections, such as the famous, pensive oboe solo—often cited as one of the most beautiful love songs in orchestral literature. Richard Strauss - Don Juan - Eine Alpensinfonie...

Finished nearly 30 years later, Eine Alpensinfonie ("An Alpine Symphony") is Strauss’s final and largest tone poem, requiring a massive orchestra of approximately 125 players. While it depicts a literal 11-hour mountain climb inspired by Strauss's own childhood trekking, the work carries deeper philosophical weight. Insatiable: Strauss's Don Juan - Houston Symphony At just 24 years old, Strauss premiered Don