The late 1940s were in many respects a period of transition in Germany and the people of Dresden were still in a state of shock after the Second World War. People were striving to regain a sense of normality in their lives and music in particular helped this. Concert and opera seasons were instituted and The Staatskapelle programmes during that period contained an astonishing number of world premieres, including a whole series of works by composers like Ernst Toch, whose works were banned in the Third Reich.

Volume 26 documents this transition with two works by Toch and Hindemith, the former presented in its world première recording.