Beethoven’s legacy proved an inspiration and obstacle to the next generation of symphonists, who struggled with the implications of Beethoven’s formal innovations, but managed to infuse the symphonic genre with greatly expanded thematic dimension inspired by the philosophy, literature, and even visual arts that shaped their own experience. Our core repertoire will be the symphonies of Mendelssohn (including the ‘Scottish’ and the ‘Italian’ Symphonies), Schumann (including the Rhenish), Brahms, Bruckner, and Mahler.