By the conservatives of his day, Brahms was accounted too radical; by the radicals, too conservative. Among friends and family, Wagner was known to be selfish, manipulative, and insincere.

"In their time," said Bob Cole, host of WPSU's Afternoon Classics, "the people who loved Wagner hated Brahms, and those who loved Brahms hated Wagner."

Today, however, there is no denying the austere majesty and far-reaching influence of both of these 19th century German masters.

At 8 tonight, the Philharmonia Orchestra of London, traveling directly from the Lincoln Center in New York City, will bring the music of Richard Wagner and Johannes Brahms to Eisenhower Auditorium. Tonight's performance is part of the orchestra's American tour, which includes appearances at symphony Hall in Boston, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and Carnegie Hall in New York City.

"The Philharmonia is one of the great ones," Cole said. "Walter Legge, the owner of EMI, bought it for his wife, Elizabeth Schwarzkopf." Schwarzkopf, whose recordings are still popular on compact disc, was one of the most prolific sopranos of her day.

In addition to being one of London's finest, the Philharmonia is also one of the world's most widely traveled orchestras. Tours this year are scheduled for Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Australia, Hong Kong and Japan.

"Some orchestras have a Northern European sound, or an American sound, or a Russian sound," said Douglas Meyer, associate professor of music. "The difference is frequently in the woodwinds, and, sometimes, the brass, depending on the different schools from which they come. But this orchestra is really an international one."

Meyer will give an Artistic Viewpoint lecture in Eisenhower's Green Room before the concert. The lecture, scheduled for 7 p.m., is free and open to the public.

The Philharmonia is led by Italian conductor Giuseppe Sinopoli. The 46-year-old conductor, composer and music director recently completed both concerts and recordings with the New York Philharmonic.

"Almost every great conductor has worked with this orchestra," Cole said. Among these greats were Otto Klemperer and Herbert von Karajan.

Tonight's program includes the "Prelude" and "Liebstod (love-death)" from Wagner's opera, Tristan und Isolde, as well as the "Overture" from his comedy, Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg.

"These two operas are similar in that they're both very contrapuntal (textured by the independent movement of different voices)," Meyer said, "but they're very different in that one is a comedy, while the other is a 'love-death.' It's interesting to have both of these in the same program."

Wagner often used the term "prelude" instead of "overture" for the music that introduced his operas. The "Prelude" to Tristan und Isolde is one of his most famous compositions. Built largely on short motives, it glides smoothly from one suggested key to another, with apparent disregard for traditional modulation. The "Prelude" is such a successful and harmonically intriguing piece that, despite the fact that it was written as part of an opera, it is often performed by orchestras in concert.

The famous "Liebstod" -- which, in the opera, is sung before Isolde expires over the dead body of her beloved Tristan -- is a superb example of Wagner at his most mature and richly chromatic.

"When Tristan und Isolde hit the market," Cole said with a chuckle, "when it was first produced, that is, all the people who composed were fascinated by it. People still argue about its interpretation, so it's a very good choice for an orchestra."

Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg, the only comedy ever written by the Fuhrer of 19th century opera, revolves around the eternal conflict between free, spontaneously-inspired creation and spiritless, pedantic stagnation. In Walther, the creative, young singer whose innovations offend the guild, Wagner was portraying himself.

The second half of tonight's performance will be devoted to Brahm's Fourth Symphony. The last symphony he ever wrote, it was originally described by the composer, in his usual, self--deprecatory fashion, as "a few entr'actes lying here -- the thing one usually calls a symphony."

Although the critics at its debut found it difficult and forbidding, the Fourth has recently been recognized as a masterpiece of controlled passion. At times, boisterous; at others, like a dirge, it moves with strength and grace, and ends majestic climax -- a fitting end to an evening of sublime power.

Tonight's performance presented by the Center for the Performing Arts, is supported jointly by grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.