In compliance with the wish of several members of the orchestra, it was proposed to give a posthumous work by Mendelssohn, the 'Reformation Symphony.' Felix himself was dissatisfied with this composition, and did not wish to publish it; his brother, whom we consulted about the performance, left the question to be decided by Rietz, David, Hauptmann, and myself. We tried it at a rehearsal. In spite of many beauties which the work contains, we resolved not to give it, as the whole symphony does not stand on the same high level with Mendelssohn's other compositions, and we were afraid that the work might have to encounter unfriendly criticism. << less