The works on the two CDs of this volume were performed in the Dresden Staatskapelle’s second symphony concert of the 2002/2003 season on 29 and 30 September and 2 October 2002. It was Bernard Haitink’s first concert as Principal Conductor of the orchestra, after he had spontaneously declared his willingness to take over this position and support the Staatskapelle following the sudden death of Giuseppe Sinopoli the previous year. It still seems a stroke of luck for Dresden, and in particular for its orchestra, that it could find a personality of such international standing who had a deep understanding both of the Staatskapelle’s great tradition and of its special character and thus was uniquely qualified to maintain and enhance its high artistic level, its individual sound and its worldwide reputation.