‘Meistersinger, an Orchestral Tribute’, is the fourth of the Dutch composer and prolific arranger Henk de Vlieger’s symphonic compilations of orchestral music from Wagner operas.
Those who have enjoyed one or more of the earlier issues,

Wagner: The Ring - An Orchestral Adventure - Järvi

Wagner: Parsifal, an Orchestral Quest - Järvi

Wagner: Tristan und Isolde, an Orchestral Passion - Järvi

will definitely wish to add this one to their collection, as arguably it is the most successful of the four, being more of an extended suite than an attempt to make a convincing symphonic structure from compositions in which voices and orchestra have a unique symbiosis.

Henk de Vlieger’s arrangement, dating from 2005, is in eleven sections that flow into each other without breaks. It includes all the orchestral excerpts that are often heard as separate items in the concert hall such as the Preludes to Acts 1 and 3, the Dance of the Apprentices and Entry of the Masters, and links these with suitably contrasting sections from elsewhere in the opera. The result is an enjoyable 48 minute traversal of ‘Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg’ ‘ohne Stimme’.

The indefatigable Neeme Järvi and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra give a splendidly expansive performance aided by the sumptuous Chandos recording, and criticism of some of his over fast tempi on the earlier issues does not apply here. The use of the surround channels for the Act 3 Festwiese procession (Tr.7) is particularly effective.

A further compelling reason for acquisition of this SACD is Jarvi’s interesting choice of fill-ups that provide a fascinating glimpse of Wagner’s early development and writing for orchestra . Jarvi gives thrilling accounts of these Wagner rarities, lavishing as much care on them as he would on great masterpieces, and the RSNO respond with ripe full-bodied playing.

‘Eine Faust Ouverture WWV59’ is rarely encountered in the concert hall these days, yet it is a fascinating example of Wagner beginning to find his own unique voice. Its brooding opening brings to mind the start of the second act of ‘Lohengin’ written eight years later while the restless and stormy allegro suggests similar passages in ‘Der Fliegende Holländer’.


In 1831 the eighteen year-old Wagner composed some incidental music for the play ‘König Enzio’ by Ernst Raupach (1784-1852) that included two ‘Entreactes tragiques WWV25’. The composer left these incomplete, though in the case of the first D major piece 52 bars were fully scored. In 1996 de Vlieger completed these pieces using all the available existing material. The influence of Weber in the first and Beethoven in the second is clear yet these pieces do display all the fingerprints of the composer’s most mature work.

‘Columbus’ is the title of a play by Theodor Apel (1811-1867) for which Wagner composed some incidental music, and in 1907 the conductor Felix Mottl arranged the prelude to the play as a concert overture with the title ‘Christopher Columbus’. Jarvi and the RSNO play it for all it is worth, knocking five minutes off the score’s suggested timing of 13 minutes.Nevertheless, their uninhibited approach to what is a fairly undistinguished piece of music really works, and brings this disc to a barnstorming conclusion.

The Chandos 5.0 DSD recording is up to the excellent standard of the earlier issues and, like the performances, can be unequivocally recommended.

Copyright © 2011 Graham Williams and HRAudio.net

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