They were used to playing Romantic symphonies and the Russian repertory.

Among the pieces of music with the title Romantic Symphony are:

Concert programs often follow a standard pattern: something relatively inconsequential, then a concerto and finally a self-consciously serious Romantic symphony.

Now, the standard repertory - the Romantic symphonies, chamber works and operas that were formerly a safe haven - has become a target.

It is a very early example of a Romantic symphony, although it could also be seen as a late example of a Classical work.

But its lush style was not what you wanted to hear after the "Romantic" Symphony, with its gushing string tunes and cinematic effects.

It played the Ives, in fact, like the grand Romantic symphony it actually is, Ives's image as a revolutionary notwithstanding.

Until high-speed Internet access is more widely available, downloading a grandly scaled Romantic symphony, let alone an opera, is a daunting prospect.

No longer the music of astronautics, it brings forward images of grief and conviviality as palpable as those of the great Romantic symphonies.

Mr. Thielemann wanted us to hear the work as a structured, bold German Romantic symphony that leads directly to Brahms.