In my younger years I was a member of several orchestras. As an example, the San Jose (California) symphony; the Minneapolis Civic Orchestra, and more.
When you and your fellow musicians work on re-creating the composer’s sounds for the audience, it requires many hours of preparation and rehearsals. There’s no better way to learn the music than this process, and one result is that years later upon hearing this, memories of the work arise again…
The sketch for this Symphony took less than a week’s effort, but its completion, delayed by the composer’s failing health and, worse, flagging self-confidence, took nearly a year.
Fellow composer Felix Mendelssohn encouraged Schumann along the way. With Mendelssohn’s encouragement, the task was finally completed and Mendelssohn led the premiere with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra on November 5, 1846.
The remarkably cooperative (and appreciative) Mendelssohn agreed to a second performance two weeks later. For this occasion, Schumann made substantial changes in the orchestration, including what turned out to be a magnificent inspiration: the addition of the trombones of the present edition.
Here is Marek Janowski leading a fine performance of this work:
