Immediately after finishing his First Symphony in B flat major op. 38, Robert Schumann wrote the present D minor Symphony in 1841. Despite its successful world premiere at the Leipzig Gewandhaus on 4 December 1841, this first version remained unpublished during the composer's lifetime. It took the great Johannes Brahms himself to recognize its qualities and commit himself actively and successfully to a renewed performance in 1889. We owe it to the many supporters of the two versions that they practically stand on an equal footing today, and are both often heard in the concert hall.