It was a watershed year for music--both in the concert hall and opera house. There were the premieres of Brahms’ first symphony and Wagner’s four-evening-long Ring cycle. Gustav Mahler’s first significant score made its appearance, Grieg and Dvorak produced their first major works to be acclaimed outside their own countries, and a new French opera launched Tchaikovsky on a stream of works on the subject of “fate.”
The year was 1876, and in the eyes of many, it heralded a new age for classical music, whose impact we still feel today.
FEATURED RECORDINGS
| Title | Group/Artist | Catalog # | UPC |
| Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite | Ulster Orchestra, Handley | Chandos CHAN 8524 | 5014682852425 |
| Mahler: Mahler Piano Quartet in A minor | Alpe Adria Ensemble | Hungaroton HCD31519 | [none – out of print] |
| Brahms: Symphony No. 1 | Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Mackerras | Telarc CD-80463 | 089408046322 |
| Dvorak: Piano Concerto | Aimard , Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Harnoncourt | Teldec8573-87630-2 | 685738763023 |
| Dvorak-Smetana String Quartets [for String Quartet No. 1 “From My Life”] | Alban Berg Quartet | EMI Classics CDC 7542152 | 077775421521 |
| Tchaikovsky: Francesca da Rimini | Berlin Philharmonic, Ozawa | EMI Classics CDE 7677902 | 077776779027 |
| Wagner: The Ring without Words | Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Maazel | Telarc CD-80154 | 089408015427 |
| Wagner: Marches & Overtures [for American Centennial March] | Hong Kong Philharmonic, Kojian | Marco Polo 8.220114 | 0730099211420 |
