In 1883, at the tender age of nineteen, the young Strauss had just begun his studies in earnest at the University of Munich and although he had some four dozen musical compositions to his credit, these were nearly all short piano pieces and songs and the young Richard was anxious to try his wings on more challenging and complex works. Along with his Symphony in F minor, Op. 12, composed in the same year, the Romanze in F is one of his first such efforts. A single, ten-minute movement, it features a long, lyrical solo for the 'cello with modest orchestral accompaniment. Although conventional in the same sense as his later works, the piece does not yet contain the overly thick textures and overworked meandering which mar many of them and passes agreeably enough. In fact yet another song, it represents a large step forward for Strauss in moving from voice and piano to 'cello and orchestra.

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