Don Juan, op.20 is a tone poem for large orchestra by the German composer Richard Strauss, which was written in 1888 and premiered in 1889. A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music in one movement in which some extra-musical programme provides a narrative or illustrative element. ... Richard Strauss Richard Strauss (June 11, 1864 – September 8, 1949) was a German composer of the late Romantic era, particularly noted for his tone poems and operas. ...

Strauss wrote and conducted the piece when he was only twenty-four years old and it became an international success shortly after its debut. It marks the discovery of the composer's formal style and tonal language. The work is based on the poem Don Juan by Nikolaus Lenau, from which much of the musical work's passion is drawn. The work maintains its exuberance and raw emotional intensity throughout, faultering only at the very end. Lenau in 1839 Nikolaus Lenau was the nom de plume of Nikolaus Franz Niembsch von Strehlenau (August 25, 1802 - August 22, 1850), an Austrian poet. ...

An average performance takes around sixteen minutes.