《 理查·施特劳斯：唐吉诃德 》

专辑介绍：1959

Malcolm Rayment Notes ©Malcolm Rayment,

but his pranks have gained him immortality.

introduction, but ends in a blaze of high spirits. Till may have been hanged

hanged. The epilogue begins as did the

and he is

of death is passed (a falling seventh on trombones, tuba, horns and bassoons)

sudden end when he is arrested. Till tries to mock at his judges, but sentence

song.Till becomes more and more reckless, but his escapades are brought to a

them, and goes off singing a jaunty street

arguments. Till expresses his opinion of these professors by making a face at

thesis to them, inciting them to a debate in which they get tangled up in their

bassoon and contra bassoon). Almost immediately Till is heard expounding a

gathering of learned professors (the passage beginning on bass clarinet,

short-lived, for the opportunity for a new piece of trickery presents itself —a

finds himself in love. When he is repulsed he flies into a rage. This is

immediately in amorous adventures. But the tables are now turned on him, for he

(downward glissando on a solo violin) and off he goes, only to indulge

trumpets, horns, and solo violins shows. Soon he tears off his disguise

is not altogether confident about this adventure, as the “fear” motive on

as Till disguises himself as a priest and gives a mock, yet serious, sermon. He

but Till has made his escape.The music now changes from six-eight to two-four

tradespeople. Somewhat belatedly a night-watchman’s rattle is heard in protest,

the place, and altogether creating confusion and even panic among the

marketplace on horseback, overturning stalls, scattering pots and pans all over

a large crash on the cymbals) he is off on his first escapade, tearingthrough a

mischievous character, his themes taking on many disguises; but soon (following

with other subsidiary themes.At first we are given a picture of Till’s

are the principal ideas varied on each reappearance, but they are also combined

recognizable. This is not a rondo in the strict classical sense, for not only

theme, are to appear in numerous varied forms while remaining easily

is played on the small clarinet. This motive, and to a lesser extent the horn

notes t>f the harmonic series. After a climax Till’s character-istic motive

horn solos in all music. It is based on, but does not entirely consist of, the

motive; but first we hear his horn theme — incidentally one of the most famous

time’ atmosphere. The opening phrase is to give rise to Till’s most important

exploits fall naturally into rondo form.The work begins with a “once upon a

Strauss to describe the adventures of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. so Till’s

supposed to have lived in the fourteenth century. Just as variation form serves

place the following autumn. The hero in this case is a practical joker who is

Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks in the spring of 1895; the first performance took

Introduction, but these lead to a quiet and peaceful ending.Strauss wrote Till

Quixote, fully restored to sanity, lies dying. There are reminiscences of the

returns home. He does so with a heavy heart.Finale. It is years later and Don

Quixote is quickly defeated and, as the result of the conditions of the combat,

making him give up his eccentric mode of life. The ruse is successful, for Don

Quixote to a combat in the hope of bringing him to his senses, and thereby

friend of the hero disguises himself as another knight errant, challenging Don

Quixote’s adventures have created much consternation in the countryside, so a

with complete success, the “wizards” being routed.Variation X. By this time Don

bassoons). Don Quixote takes them for wizards. This time his attack is crowned

two harmless monks engaged in learned ecclesiastical conversation (two

a prayer of thanks for their escape.Variation IX. Next our heroes come across

soon succeed in capsizing it. They scramble ashore, dripping wet, and offer up

that it has been put there for his use to rescue someone. They get into it, but

without oars moored to a river bank; he immediately comes to the conclusion

the pair have never left the ground.Variation VIII. Don Quixote finds a rowboat

wind machine is used here, but a constant tonic pedal in the bass shows us that

fanned with huge bellows and imagine that they are flying through the air. A

allow themselves to be blindfolded and seated on a wooden horse. They are

that she is under some evil enchantment.Variation VII. Here our two heroes

life. He explains away her appearance as a rather ugly peasant girl by the fact

hopes that producing a Dulcinea will bring an end to this uncongenial way of

as the country-dance-like vulgarization of the Dulcinea theme shows. Sancho

Moreover, she is far from being the beautiful maiden of the knight’s imagination—

one of three girls riding on asses whom Don Quixote and Sancho Panza meet.

the night by his armour.Variation VI. "Dulcinea” at last appears. She is

appears, depicts Don Quixote keeping vigil in true knightly tradition throughout

V. This eloquent monologue for solo ’cello, during which the Dulcinea theme

seen that he is not seriously hurt, goes to sleep, emitting a loud snore.Variation

unconscious. Sancho Panza goes to the aid of his wounded master, but having

He charges, but the short-lived combat only results in his being knocked

statue of the Madonna, which he sees as an unfortunate maiden being abducted.

silent.Variation IV. Don Quixote comes across a band of pilgrims carrying a

in the work). He brushes aside Sancho’s philosophy, angrily telling him to keep

a glorious picture of their chosen vocation (one of the most beautiful passages

Quixote, however, is made of sterner stuff; he is not to be dissuaded, and paints

especially since their ventures so far have brought nothing but bruises. Don

Sancho Panza. the subject being a life of chivalry. Sancho questions its value,

III. This long variation represents a conversation between Don Quixote and

another army, comprised of shepherds, which attacks and stones him.Variation

(Strauss’s realism here is amazing.) Unfortunately for Don Quixote there is yet

time with far more success, creating the greatest confusion among “the enemy.”

this “army” is but a large flock of sheep. Once again our hero charges, this

the great emperor, Alifanfaron.” It is useless for Sancho Panza to protest that

sees “a prodigious army of divers and innumerable nations on the march led by

Nothing daunted, our hero resumes his former knightly character and very soon

epilogue to this variation shows the knight “in very evil plight.Variation II.

aside. Don Quixote charges, only to be unhorsed by a slowly moving sail. The

Quixote’s disordered brain, giants. Sancho Panza’s beseechings are brushed

excursion. Very soon the pair come across some windmills which become, in Don

themes are soon joined the one depicting Dulcinea —the purpose of this

resolutely on the solo ’cello and Sancho Panza on the bass clarinet. To these

unison, and by a solo viola.Variation I. The pair set out together. Don Quixote

his character. It is stated alternately by the tenor tuba and bass clarinet in

Panza is depicted with a very different type of theme, that is expressive of

gives a portrait of “The Knight of the Doleful Countenance.” In the second section Sancho

real knight errant.Theme. Here the solo ’cello states the theme in full and

rescue the fair Dulcinea. Finally his mind goes, and he decides to become a

deeds; then he dreams up his own fantasies in which he is the hero, about to

Quixote’s failing sanity. At first he intoxicates his mind by reading of heroic

ideal woman, Dulcinea del Toboso. The introduction as a whole describes Don

opening motive. The quiet oboe solo that follows characterizes Don Quixote’s

thematic material, and a little later the violas take up and continue the

the full Don Quixote theme. The strings, when they enter arco, introduce more

significance.Introduction. The opening bars of the work are an anticipation of

novel that he gave only brief indications of the work’s programmatic

seem so far-fetched. So clear is Strauss’s portrayal of episodes in Cervantes’

taste of lager beer in music. In the light of Don Quixote this claim does not

highest point. The composer once said that he could, if he chose, depict the

poem. In Don Quixote Strauss's powers of pictorial illustration reached their

from a few basic motives and themes, each section is in itself a miniature tone

not variations in the classical sense, for, although much of the work derives

Heldenleben. These “Fantastic Variations on a Theme of Knightly Character” are

composed in 1897, a year after Also Sprach Zarathustra and a year before Ein

series of tone poems that Strauss wrote during the 1880's and ’90’s. It was

Don Quixote is the last but one in the

THE BERLIN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

RUDOLF KEMPE conducting

Giusto Cappone, Viola

Paul Tortelier, Cello

RICHARD STRAUSS: DON QUIXOTE, Op. 35

Capctol SG 7190 1959