"Lohengrin" was first performed at Weimar in 1850 under the direction of Liszt. It bears a striking relation to Weber's "Euryanthe," but exhibits, nevertheless, entirely new tendencies. It breathes the very atmosphere of chivalrous splendor, embodies ideal purity of sentiment and expression, and supplants traditional form by means of continuous and absolutely flexible melody. Conspicuous is the reconstruction of the orchestra in that the strings are much divided, and the wood-winds are represented by families of three instead of two instruments. Both Meyerbeer and Berlioz had made use of such triplets of uniform tone-color, but Wagner was the first to do so consistently. Not only were the resources for obtaining variety of individual and also of combined tonal effect thereby increased, but the _ensemble_ of the full orchestra acquired greater firmness and sonority as well. Striking and entirely new effects confront us on every hand. The string writing is of surpassing beauty, whether illustrated by the division of violins in their ethereal range, or by passages assigned to divided violas and 'cellos combined with the harp. It is, however, primarily the wood-wind that is treated in a particularly novel manner. Familiar examples containing rare tonal tints and intense depth of sentiment are those associated with Elsa's first entry, or with the dramatic situation in the earlier part of the second act, where the English horn, clarinet, bass-clarinet, bassoons and 'cellos are most effectively combined. The cathedral scene in the second act presents another complete exposition of unsupported wood-wind. Not until 1859 was the score of "Tristan und Isolde" completed, for Wagner was simultaneously at work on the "Meistersinger" and the "Ring"; moreover, after the first performance of "Lohengrin," fifteen dreary years elapsed before "Tristan" was first presented, which finally took place in Munich in 1865. The exposition of this Keltic legend is marked by splendor of color and musical intricacy. Although it ushers in the beginning of Wagner's third creative period whereby the logical unfolding of his ideas of reform is carried out, the work is properly included in the second group of the "orchestral" classification, since the numerical distribution of instrumental parts is practically identical with that in "Lohengrin." However, the scoring is of a far higher degree of intensity. It abounds in every conceivable shade of composite tone-color, of striking contrasts, of inspiring outbursts. One of the most magnetic features is the impassioned yet melancholy tint that envelops the entire work as it were in its veiled embrace. The attainment of this objective colors much of the orchestration, as exemplified, for instance, by the predominance of violoncellos in four parts as well as by the combination of oboe, English horn, horn and bassoon _soli_ in the Vorspiel. Again, a subdued yet intense impression is caused by the union of English horn, bassoon and