By April 1849, when Wagner penned these lines, few Germans shared his view that revolution could bring forth a paradise on earth. But a year earlier, such visions of a complete transformation of society were articulated by musicians of all shades of the progressive political spectrum. From their perspective, the coups d'état and popular uprisings that spread eastwards from France in late February and March 1848 inaugurated a new age, promising not merely an end to absolutist rule but a radical overhaul of every aspect of life. For liberal musicians and critics, just as for their counterparts in other spheres of culture, the elation of the March Days was quickly followed by a period of painstaking reconstruction.