Paired together in a single, affordable volume, these disparate works reflect two different sides of Wagner's compositional mastery. Aside from his operatic works, Wagner wrote relatively little music--a single symphony, some overtures, and a few choral and piano works. Of these, the Siegfried Idyll is the most frequently performed. Although not part of the Ring cycle, the Idyll draws upon several of the Ring's motifs. Written for the birthday of Wagner's wife, Cosima, it was never intended for public performance but financial difficulties forced the composer into publication. "The secret treasure is to become public property," Cosima noted in her diary, and audiences have been the happier for it. With Wagner's Faust Overture, the nineteenth century's preeminent German opera composer took on the most discussed and written-about work by Germany's most revered poet. Inspired by Wagner's attendance at a performance of Berlioz's Romeo and Juliet, the original composition dates from 1844 and depicts Faust in utter despair. In 1855, Wagner reworked the piece, providing a more hopeful and consoling ending.