Don Juan statue in Seville Photo: Anual CC BY-SA 3.0
Performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Judd.
There are many different versions of the Don Juan story, but the erotic legend walked into Richard Strauss’s life by way of a German play.
At the time the composer was 24 years old and making his own way in the world. Independent from his conservative father, the famous horn player Franz Strauss, Richard began to enjoy his romantic and musical freedom. He fell for Dora, the wife of a cellist friend and after her marriage broke down, they began a passionate affair. The desire he experienced was borne out in this tone poem, a musical storm of pleasure and pain.
In Nikolaus Lenau’s play, the Don leads a life of worthless sensuality. Every triumphant seduction winds up destroying someone or something. Deeply troubled by his many cruelties, Don Juan becomes increasingly reckless until he yearns to die at the hands of an enemy.
At its premiere in Weimar in November 1889, Don Juan scandalized and delighted audiences who were unaccustomed to such graphically suggestive music.
Recorded 13 May 2022, Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington by RNZ Concert
Producer: David McCaw
Engineer: Darryl Stack
