Strauss composed his Violin Concerto in 1882, closely followed by the Horn Concerto that same year; it has remained a favorite in the repertoire ever since. The music, especially in the first movement, is reminiscent of Beethoven and Schumann, with a touch of the late Romantic style.

Strauss was 19 when he composed the Horn Concerto; surely it was this astonishing maturity which moved Hans von Bülow (who conducted the premiere performance in 1885) to call him a "stripling born old."