Burleske

The work's original title was Scherzo in D minor, and it was written for Hans von Bülow, who had appointed Strauss assistant conductor of the Meiningen Court Orchestra.

He said the piano part was "Lisztian" and "unplayable", particularly for a pianist with a small handspan (Strauss says that von Bülow could barely reach an octave).

A quarter of a century later he wrote about Bülow: "For anyone who ever heard him play Beethoven or conduct Wagner, who attended one of his piano lessons or observed him in orchestra rehearsal, he inevitably became the model of all the shining virtues of a performing artist, and his touching sympathy for me, his influence on the development of my artistic abilities, were the decisive factors in my career.

It eventually became one of his favourite works, and he programmed it in his last concert in London with the Philharmonia Orchestra in September 1947,[2] along with Don Juan, the Symphonia Domestica and the waltzes from Der Rosenkavalier.

Schnéevoigt considered the piano part manageable only by a male pianist, and demanded Vera Bradford be replaced; but she stood her ground and gave a celebrated performance.

The piece is scored for piano solo and an orchestra of piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in B-flat, 2 bassoons, 4 horns (2 in F, 2 in D), 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings.

[6] Notable performers who have played or recorded the Burleske include Martha Argerich, Claudio Arrau, Emanuel Ax, Wilhelm Backhaus, Maurizio Baglini, Rudolf Buchbinder, Michel Dalberto, Barry Douglas, Malcolm Frager, Nelson Freire, Glenn Gould, Hélène Grimaud, Friedrich Gulda, Marc-André Hamelin, Byron Janis, Jeffrey Kahane, Alexander Lonquich, Elly Ney (1932), Sviatoslav Richter, Martin Roscoe, Rudolf Serkin, Jascha Spivakovsky (with Strauss himself conducting), Sara Davis Buechner, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Bertrand Chamayou (2021).