No composer has ever taken his art more to heart than RHEINBERGER (1839). Composition was for him a serious, even sacred avocation. It was not to be approached in a spirit of levity, nor could it assume for him so humble a mission as merely to amuse and entertain. This loftiness of purpose is visible even in his rather infrequent efforts in lighter vein. Although he was, to a degree, unconsciously swept along on the irresistible tidal wave of the epoch, nevertheless his conceptions found utterance in a but mild form of romanticism, and his works are seasoned with a certain spice of classic severity. It may be fearlessly asserted that Rheinberger is the greatest of all composers for the organ after Bach and Mendelssohn. His organ works are rich in color and of masterful effect. They combine free harmonic treatment, freely developed counterpoint and freedom of form. These attributes are particularly noticeable in the first organ concerto. His genius further reveals itself in the religious fervor that pervades his mighty series of sacred works. These two forms of composition--organ and church music, together with part-songs of rare beauty, are the most notable accomplishments of this versatile master. On the other hand, neither his operas nor his orchestral works can be regarded in the light of important contributions to musical literature. Strange, therefore, that Rheinberger should have first won general recognition through his "Symphonische Tongemälde Wallenstein." What is more, this is the work for which its author was led to essay the programmatic style of writing. Had he continued to develop his talents along similar lines, the world might have been impoverished to the extent of divers organ and sacred works, but Rheinberger himself must have risen to far greater eminence. It is to be admitted that his subsequent Florentine symphony, as also the oratorio "Christoforus" and the opera "Thürmers Töchterlein," are none of them equal to the Wallenstein symphony, but according to Rheinberger's own confession he became disheartened by neglect at the time when Wagner stormed the portals of the Munich Opera House. Thenceforth he turned for relief to other fields of composition and became, as he grew older, more and more conservative--one is almost obliged to say bigoted. The instrumentation of his purely orchestral works is pointedly restricted to Beethovian procedure and reverts even to that of Mozart in the use of trumpets and kettle-drums. Its general effect is one of great refinement; it is marvellously smooth and perfectly rounded in every detail; but the essential elements of individuality and novelty do not enter into the orchestral scheme to any appreciable extent.