Don Quixote, Op. 35, is a tone poem 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.

The score is 45 minutes long and is written in theme and variations form, with the solo cello representing Don Quixote, and the solo viola, tenor tuba, and bass clarinet depicting the comic Sancho Panza. The second variation depicts an episode where Don Quixote encounters a herd of sheep and perceives them as an approaching army. Strauss uses dissonant flutter-tonguing 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".

All of the "episodes" are taken directly from the Cervantes novel.

Instrumentation

The work is scored for a large orchestra consisting of the following forces:

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

• brass: 6 horns in F, 3 trumpets in D and F, 3 trombones, tenor tuba in B♭ (often performed on 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.

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") [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)

Selected recordings

• 1933 – Enrico Mainardi (cello); Karl Reitz (viola); Richard Strauss (conductor); Berlin State Opera Orchestra
• 1938 – Emanuel Feuermann (cello); Carlton Cooley (viola); Arturo Toscanini (conductor); NBC Symphony Orchestra (an unofficial release)
• 1941 – Gregor Piatigorsky (cello); Fritz Reiner (conductor); Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
• 1943 – Joseph Schuster (cello), William Lincer, viola; Leonard Bernstein (conductor); New York Philharmonic (this was Bernstein's debut, and not released as an official recording until many years after his death)
• 1953 – Frank Miller (cello); Carlton Cooley (viola); Arturo Toscanini (conductor); NBC Symphony Orchestra (the official Toscanini release)
• 1963 – Lorne Munroe (cello); Carlton Cooley (viola); Eugene Ormandy (conductor); Philadelphia Orchestra
• 1964 – Mstislav Rostropovich (cello), L. Dvoskin (viola), Kyril Kondrashin (conductor) Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
• 1972 - Lorne Munroe (cello); William Lincer (viola); Leonard Bernstein (conductor); New York Philharmonic
• 2003 – John Sharp (cello); Charles Pickler (viola); Daniel Barenboim (conductor); Chicago Symphony Orchestra

References

1. ^ Mark-Daniel Schmid, The Richard Strauss Companion. Praeger (Westport, Connecticut, USA; 2003), p. 111 (ISBN 0-313-27901-2).
2. ^ Keppler, Jr., Philip (1956). "Some Comments on Musical Quotation". The Musical Quarterly XLII (4): 473–485. doi:10.1093/mq/XLII.4.473. Retrieved 1 March 2008.