I became a Wagnerite in 1971, and a Perfect Wagnerite the following year. 

For several reasons I didn’t get to know his opera Lohengrin very well, though I did go to see a great performance of it at the Met in the late 70s.

I’m rectifying that omission now, and of course there’s a wealth of great music to be savored in it.

But even though I only knew the opera slightly, the Prelude to Act I of Lohengrin has long been one of my favorites.

Here is nine minutes of transcendental beauty. See if you agree.