One of the outstanding aspects of nineteenth-century romanticism was its preoccupation with the past. This interest in the music or the old masters has lasted well into the twentieth century, and one whose lifetime bridged the two centuries was the composer Max Reger (1873-1916). Reger's admiration for the music of the past pervaded his own works. His preference for contrapuntal textures and devices, his use of baroque forms, his distaste for program music--all bespeak Reger's especial interest in the old masters, particularly in 5. S. Bach. These qualities led some to regard him as the successor of Johannes Brahms, who held similar tenets. Because of his particular interest in composing for the organ, Reger was viewed as a "nineteenth-century Bach."