Briefly ~ Richard Strauss's symphonic poem "Don Quixote"

"Title Music"

I like "title music" very much, because the music itself has no picture, and the title music gives us images .

Of course, some people like to have their own personal imagination and don't like to be restricted by the title music style.
Everyone's preferences are different.

music based on literature

Don Quijote de la Mancha, based on the original work by Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. This is a symphonic poem that " narrates the novel in the way of music ". It is a pure title music, and it is completely loyal to the original work. The composer describes the scene according to the content of the work.

I also like Tchaikovsky's adaptations of Shakespeare 's "The Tempest", "Hamlet", and "Romeo and Juliet" based on the symphonic poems.

There was no "symphonic poem" in Tchaikovsky's day. So some are published in the form of "prelude" , but in fact, the structure is no different from symphonic poetry!

The original intention is to satirize criticism

The background of "Don Quixote" is an era when there is no "knight" for a long time, and the protagonist Don Quixote fantasizes that he is a knight, so he does all kinds of unbelievable actions, and finally wakes up from the dream. This is also a work by the original author Cervantes that is full of satire on the current environmental values .

When we listen to music, we don’t have so many ideological burdens. We can close our eyes and enjoy the ups and downs and beautiful passages. This is the difference between music art and literary art, and each has its own advantages.

Song Introduction

The ten variations of the symphonic poem "Don Quixote" are all adaptations of well-known scenes from the original work, especially the second variation which impressed me the most; In a paragraph, you can hear the copper pipe making the sound of sheep, baa~baa~, if you don't know the original story here, you won't know why there is a copper pipe sound that is not pleasant to the ear!

The symphonic poem "Don Quixote " is titled "Fantasy Variations on the Theme of the Knight's Character" . Princess Nia. The characterization of the knight's character here is, of course, transformed by the cello as the main player. Of course, his knight's character is full of nervousness and joking, but it is also full of affection, thinking and sadness.

When this piece is played, the cello soloist will sit on the solo stage, as if it were a cello concerto ! Because the cello represents the protagonist Don Quixote, the cello soloist is naturally placed in the most conspicuous position during the performance. Over time, this piece feels like a cello concerto.

In fact , the solo part of the cello is much less than most cello concertos . After all, the main body is symphonic poems , not cello concertos.

The main melody of the whole song runs through the audience and the dialogues of various characters are intertwined. The way of presenting the story with music is very interesting.

Daxia is strongly recommended!

Article 2018.5.3
Addition 2022.6.27

The version introduced to you is:

Shavalish Conductor / NHK Symphony Orchestra Maisky / Cello