recent years had proved to Brendel by their achievements that he had not been in error. Brendel mentioned by name only Wagner, who had wonderfully realized the ideal of the pure German opera, but he also mentioned two others. While Brendel did not explicitly cite their names, from the context it is clear that Berlioz and Liszt were intended. According to Brendel in his essay F. Liszt's symphonische Dichtungen of 1858, it was his conviction that Liszt's Symphonic Poems were the most perfect ideal of instrumental music of that time. They were what had to come if progress was to be gained. In contrast to this, the Symphonies of Schubert, Mendelssohn and Schumann, however magnificent and beautiful they were, could only be regarded as the works of epigones [i.e. after Beethoven]. Introduction of the term 'New German School' See also Music of the Future for additional background. To improve future debates, Brendel made several suggestions; in particular, that in future, use of the term Zukunftsmusik (En: Music of the Future) should be avoided. The term had been derived from Wagner's essay The Artwork of the Future, but none fully subscribed to the ideas Wagner set out there about his ideals for music drama. Wagner's exaggerated and combative style meant that many whom he had attacked had wanted to defend themselves. This had caused heated debates, not excluding pettiness and personal insults. Instead of continuing to use the term "Zukunftsmusik", with its connotations of past struggles, Brendel suggested using "Neudeutsche Schule". The new term should be understood as denoting the whole period since Beethoven's death. According to Brendel, it was common usage to call the period of J. S. Bach and Händel "alt deutsche Schule" ("Old German School"). The subsequent period was that of Viennese masters such as Mozart who had been influenced by the Italian style. Beethoven had redirected interest to the German North again and with this had opened the "Neudeutsche Schule". Berlioz and Liszt as 'German' masters According to Brendel, there had been a further reason for the heated debates of the past. People had discussed new works without actually knowing them. For this reason Brendel had arranged the musical performances of the Tonkünstler-Versammlung. Those musicians present could judge for themselves by listening to the works. Since there was no doubt that – in Brendel's sense – the performed works should represent the "New German School", it could