Don Juan (Strauss)
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Don Juan, op.20 is a tone poem for large orchestra by the German composer Richard Strauss, which was written in 1888 and premiered in 1889.
Strauss wrote and conducted the piece when he was only twenty-four years old and it became an international success shortly after its debut. It marks the discovery of the composer's formal style and tonal language. The work is based on the poem Don Juan by Nikolaus Lenau, from which much of the musical work's passion is drawn.
An average performance takes around sixteen minutes.
[edit] Orchestration
This composition is scored for a large-sized romantic orchestra. Strauss calls for the following:
- Woodwinds
- 3 Flutes (Fl. 3 doubling Piccolo)
- 2 Oboes
- English Horn
- 2 Clarinets in A
- 2 Bassoons
- Contrabassoon
