Live stream preview

Watch this video and more on TSO On Demand

Watch this video and more on TSO On Demand

Subscribe

Already subscribed? Sign in

Strauss' Don Juan

Watch now • 19m

Flirty, fiery, a little reckless…

Don Juan is an exciting, dramatic piece of music written by Richard Strauss in 1888, when he was just 24 years old. It’s a tone poem (a type of orchestral music that tells a story purely through instruments) based on the story of Don Juan, one of the most famous characters in Western literature.

Don Juan is a fictional Spanish nobleman who’s bold, seductive, and never stays in one place – or with one woman – for too long. Listen out for sweeping melodies illustrating his passion and charm. Don Juan can’t keep up this fast life and he goes too far, killing a man. It varies from version to version, but usually someone of importance, like a commander or another nobleman.

Also listen for moments of longing and sadness, hinting that maybe Don Juan is searching for something deeper… and can’t find it. Then comes the moment of reckoning: a statue of the man Don Juan killed comes to life and gives him a chance to repent. Don Juan refuses in his classic arrogant way and is ultimately dragged to hell. Phew.

PROGRAM
Richard Strauss Don Juan, Op 20

MUSICIANS
Conductor Eivind Aadland
musicians from the Australian National Academy of Music
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra

Federation Concert Hall, Nipaluna / Hobart

Tags
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, orchestra, TSO, Hobart, Tasmania, Norway, Classical, Orchestral, violin, brass, strings, concerto

Up Next in Watch now

  • Ravel's Bolero
    16:02
    Ravel's Bolero

    Ravel's Bolero

    A hypnotic slow burn

    This is perhaps one of the most instantly recognisable pieces in classical music. You might have heard it anywhere from Torvill and Dean skating to it at the 1984 Winter Olympics, to Baz Luhrman’s 2001 film Moulin Rouge, or even used to comedic effect on Saturday Night Live....

  • Grieg's In Autumn
    11:54
    Grieg's In Autumn

    Grieg's In Autumn

    Rustic. Playful. Magical.

    In Autumn, Op 11
    Composed by Edvard Grieg (1843–1907)
    11 minutes

    Edvard Grieg’s In Autumn, Op. 11, is a vivid and spirited concert overture that captures the changing moods of the season. Written in 1865 when Grieg was in his early twenties, it shows the young Norwegi...

  • Brahms' Symphony No 2
    43:24
    Brahms' Symphony No 2

    Brahms' Symphony No 2

    Symphony No 2 in D, Op 73
    Allegro ma non troppo
    Adagio ma non troppo
    Allegretto grazioso (quasi andantino)
    Allegro con spirito
    Composed by Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
    43 minutes

    Johannes Brahms composed his Symphony No 2 in D during the summer of 1877, in the peaceful surroundings of Pörtschac...

×