Out of Dresden

Having departed Dresden and the shadow of Wagner, in just three months in early 1850, a reinvigorated Schumann completed two major orchestral works, the ‘Rhenish’ Symphony and the Cello Concerto. However, whilst the symphony soon had highly acclaimed performances in Düsseldorf and elsewhere, the concerto remained unplayed until after his death, championed by his widow Clara who wrote in her diary “I have played Robert’s cello concerto through again ... the romantic quality, the vivacity, the freshness and humour are indeed wholly ravishing, and what deep feeling one finds in all the melodic passages!” The symphony is equally exhilarating, with both moments of joyous rapture and grand solemnity. Lohengrin was Wagner’s first internationally recognised masterpiece. The Act I Prelude is a musical depiction of the Holy Grail as it descends to the Earth in the care of an Angelic host whilst that of Act III, containing just about the flashiest music he ever wrote, sets the scene for Lohengrin’s wedding.