It was a wond’rous lovely storm that drove me: 
Now it is o’er; and calm all round, above me;
Sheer dead is every wish; all hopes o’ershrouded,—­
It was perhaps a flash from heaven descended,
Whose deadly stroke left me with powers ended,
And all the world, so bright before, o’erclouded;
Yet perchance not!  Exhausted is the fuel;
And on the hearth the cold is fiercely cruel.[A]

[Footnote A:  Translation by John P. Jackson.]

In the question of the composer’s intent, of general plan and of concrete detail, it is well to see that the quotation from Lenau’s poem is twice broken by lines of omission; that there are thus three principal divisions.  It cannot be wise to follow a certain kind of interpretation[A] which is based upon the plot of Mozart’s opera.  The spirit of Strauss’s music is clearly a purely subjective conception, where the symbolic figure of fickle desire moves through scenes of enchantment to a climax of—­barren despair.

[Footnote A:  In a complex commentary William Mauke finds Zerlina, Anna and “The Countess” in the music.]

To some extent Strauss clearly follows the separate parts of his quotation.  Fervent desire, sudden indifference are not to be mistaken.

The various love scenes may be filled with special characters without great harm, save that the mind is diverted from a higher poetic view to a mere concrete play of events.  The very quality of the pure musical treatment thus loses nobility and significance.  Moreover the only thematic elements in the design are the various “motives” of the hero.

Allegro molto con brio begins the impetuous main theme in dashing ascent,

[Music:  Allegro molto con brio (Unison strings) (Doubled in higher 8ve.)]

whimsical play

[Music:  (Woodwind doubled in higher 8ve.)]

and masterful career.

[Music:  (Doubled in higher 8ve.)]

The various phases are mingled in spirited song; only the very beginning seems reserved as a special symbol of a turn in the chase, of the sudden flame of desire that is kindled anew.

In the midst of a fresh burst of the main phrase are gentle strains of plaint (flebile).  And now a tenderly sad motive in the wood sings against the marching phrase, amidst a spray of light, dancing chords.  Another song of the main theme is spent in a vanishing tremolo of strings and harp, and buried in a rich chord whence rises a new song (molto espressivo) or rather a duet, the first of the longer love-passages.

The main melody is begun in clarinet and horn and instantly followed (as in canon) by violins.  The climax of this impassioned scene is a titanic chord of minor, breaking the spell; the end is in a distorted strain of the melody, followed by a listless refrain of the (original) impetuous motive (senza espressione).