Richard Strauss composed this twenty-minute single-movement composition for piano and orchestra between 1885 and 1886, when he was 21 years old.
I suspect one of the reasons I like the piece so much is that it abounds with a sense of humor that is never exercised to the detriment of another.
The piece opens with a burst of youthful energy and is full of confident high spirits, vigor, and vitality. Its drama and comedy, lyricism, humor, lightness, and delicacy foreshadow Strauss’ operas, while its glittering, masterful orchestration anticipates his symphonic poems.
The performance is fabulous: not only stunning technically, but absolutely “right” in its improvisatory liberties, its expressiveness, and its sudden mood changes.
Here is Martha Argerich to play it for you:
