Czech Philharmonic ⬩ Daniel Harding

The oratorio Paradise and the Peri was Schumann’s ticket to a place in the company of the greatest composers. Its success was so enormous that it catapulted him overnight from the status of a provincial composer to that of an international star. More than just a critical success, the work was so loved by the public that it got more than 50 performances in the first years after its premiere. About it, Schumann said he had wanted to write an oratorio “not for the choir, but for happy people.” And upon hearing it, Richard Wagner respectfully complemented Schumann: “Not only do I know this beautiful poem; it has even passed through my musical thoughts. But I never found the form that would let me transform it into the language of music. I am therefore sincerely glad that you have found that form.”