The subtitle "Rhenish" refers to the area around the Rhine river and the town of Düsseldorf where the Schumanns went in 1850 when Robert took up a position there as conductor. This proved disastrous as Robert was hardly a competent conductor but, at the beginning, the Symphony shows Robert's mood of elation and possesses great energy and vitality. The Symphony has 5 movements instead of the usual 4.
The Rhenish has had an enormous influence on Brahms especially his 3rd Symphony whose opening theme derives from the corresponding spot and more directly from two measures Schumann used in passing. Elgar too was much influenced by this symphony and frequently conducted it, though he often criticized the orchestration. I have left this alone except for the timpani in the first movement which were really impossible as they stand. (modern timpani can easily make pitch changes but Schumann did not have that luxury.)
The combined MIDI file is here.
The newly uploaded mp3 files are here:
first movement
second movement
third movement
fourth movement
fifth movement
Edward Gold