Most of the familiar orchestral versions of
Richard Wagner's operatic music were arranged either by him or his followers in the 19th century, so the Overture and Venusberg Music from Tannhäuser and the Prelude to Act III from Lohengrin have long been performed in these special concert formats. But the main work of this SACD is the 1993 suite arranged by
Henk de Vlieger, Parsifal, an Orchestral Quest, which is a fresh adaptation of the key moments from
Wagner's final music drama. The work was commissioned by the
Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, after
de Vlieger, the ensemble's percussionist, had successfully arranged music from
Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen into a similar orchestral vehicle for them. Parsifal, an Orchestral Quest was premiered on RCA in 1997 by
Edo de Waart, and
Neeme Järvi leads the second recorded performance on this 2010 release on Chandos. Since the music is faithfully adapted from the original score and arranged into a coherent instrumental version that still communicates the broad outlines of the drama, there is little to debate over
de Vlieger's choices, and
Järvi's performance with the
Royal Scottish National Orchestra is fully satisfying. This album provides a balanced program of
Wagner's orchestral music, from the somber meditations of Parsifal to the lascivious passions of the bacchanalia from Tannhäuser and the stirring emotions in the Prelude to Act III from Lohengrin, so listeners can expect a captivating listening experience that may also inspire them to seek out the full operas.