Rienzi the German Empire and making it great once more." The original performance version of "Rienzi" was lost in the Dresden bombing of 1945, and the manuscript (on which it had been based) was lost in Berlin in 1945. No full copies had been made of either version, as far as is known. However, "Rienzi" was never established by the composer into a finalized version, so all performances of it since 1945 have been reconstructions. A vocal score of the early 1840s, based on Wagner's draft, remains as the only existing primary source. Two surviving full scores made in Dresden in
Julius Caesar (overture) F minor, the "uncompromising sonata form", and the coda in the major key; and to a lesser extent his concert overture "Coriolan". Schumann started writing the music in mid-January 1851. His wife Clara noted in her diary on 17 January that he was now working on the overture. He wrote out the full score between 27 January and 2 February, finishing it only a few days before he conducted the premiere of his 3rd Symphony, "Rhenish" (6 February). The work had its premiere on 3 August 1852 in Düsseldorf. Earlier that year he had consulted Dr Wolfgang Müller about his