The rebellious son of the gods Prometheus, who brought fire to mankind and was brutally punished for it, inspired Beethoven's ballet "The Creatures of Prometheus." Through the Promethean spark, an enlightened humanity matures. The piece marked Beethoven's first stage success in Vienna in 1801, and the stormy overture significantly contributed to this.

Robert Schumann composed his Violin Concerto in the autumn of 1853 in just two weeks. In it, he completely turned away from the fashionable bravura of such solo concertos. With a deliberately "lowered" violin voice and a fusion of baroque and romantic techniques, a moodful work emerged that was only rediscovered in the 20th century.

Emilie Mayer, originally from Mecklenburg, was considered one of the most significant female composers in Europe in the 19th century. The male-dominated music scene even gave her the nickname "female Beethoven." Mayer's works, completely unjustly forgotten, always reveal the highest quality. This is proven by the first of her eight symphonies, premiered in Stettin in 1847, in the poignant key of c minor.