Composed in London, Spohr’s Second Symphony was received with real enthusiasm at its première, the audience responding to the work’s tasteful Haydnesque flourishes, wide emotional palette and delightful writing for wind instruments. Written in 1850, a year after the re-imposition of authoritarian rule in Germany, Symphony No. 9 ‘The Seasons’ is no mere programmatic work but a symbolic journey from the winter darkness of political oppression through the ‘Garden of Eden’ imagery of Spring, and the vibrant colours of Summer, ending with Autumn whose positive finale is a celebration of the composer’s belief in the political rebirth of Germany.