Various large and small scale musical allusions, both obvious and implied, may be found throughout the work. Robert Meikle draws attention to the Mahlerian treatment of the material in the last movement, as well as likenesses to Brahms's "A German Requiem". Meikle also notes the similarities to certain aspects of Brahms's Symphony No. 3, in particular the cyclical return of thematic material and the subdued texture which concludes both works. The motive in the first violins at rehearsal 1 of the first movement, reappearing in both the rondo and the finale, resembles both Elgar's own so-called "Judgment" theme from "The Dream of Gerontius" and the "Dies irae". An inverted chord appears at the conclusion of the work, and Allen Gimbel illustrates many possible links between this symphony and Wagner's "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg", a work Elgar admired deeply. Specifically, Gimbel points out the resemblance of the motive on the last three beats of m. 2 of the first movement and the "Abgesang" of Walther's "Prize Song" from "Die Meistersinger", thus linking the trials of the opera's hero to Elgar's desire to assert his independence as an artist.