The two orchestral works on this new CD reflect early experiments with the symphonic form by Franz Schubert and Robert Schumann, who would both later become such important Romantic composers.
In his Third Symphony in D major, D. 200, written in the early summer of 1815, the eighteen-year-old Schubert released himself from the style of his First and Second Symphonies and finally found his own musical expression. None of his symphonies would be heard in public during his lifetime, however; the Third was first performed as late as 1881 in London, where it was immediately received with great enthusiasm.
Schumann’s First Symphony in B flat major, op 38 (after an unfinished symphony he wrote in his youth) was an impressive success for the 31-year-old composer. Two months after its completion, in January 1841, the work was premiered by Felix Mendelssohn at the Leipzig Gewandhaus to great public acclaim.
Here is the lovely opening from the Symphony #3 by Schubert from this recording:
