Only the tone poems didn’t appeal straight away. They were supposed to. I’d managed to ‘get’ Mahler, and I was told that he and Strauss were contempories (friends even) and shared some musical similarities. My assumption is that I had, in my first exposure to orchestral music, focussed on the symphony form and the freewheeling, 'painting pictures with music' approach didn’t fit in with what I was used to. I was very naïve then, and I guess I may be still in some respects. So, all-in-all, this turn of events was rather dispiriting.
Now, as time has moved on and my listening has developed, the Strauss tone poems are easier for me to enjoy. I particularly like Don Juan and Ein Heldenleben; but Don Quixote? I can’t get into it.
This thread then will be an attempt by me to 1) explain the history of the piece, by 2) movement by movement discussing the ‘plot’, and 3) my last attempt to get some help in understanding why so many other people like it. Hopefully, I will be able to learn from your experiences and maybe (by forcing myself to listen to it) I will finally ‘get’ it. Either that, or I’ll give up on it for a few years…
The recording of the piece I will start with will be Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra below

It’s widely held to be a definitive recording and, purely in terms of the sound produced, the best I have heard. I will try some other recordings out that I have also and I would like you all to join me by dusting off some of your on Don Quixote recordings and letting us know their strengths/weaknesses (I have no qualms if this thread morphs into a mini Building a Library)
Note: I am not an authority on music so any technical information I offer will be second-hand (but hopefully valid). Feel free the broaden the discussion if you have a deeper musical understanding that I do…