After three years wandering from one creditor to another, selling and reselling the royalties from his works, Richard Wagner found the peace of mind he so sorely missed thanks to the royal offices of a 19-year-old monarch, Ludwig II of Bavaria, who in 1864 cancelled all the composer's debts and purchased the copyrights to The Ring of the Nibelung. Among other benefits, he installed him in a comfortable villa just a few minutes from the palace.
Hans and Cosima The conductor Hans von Büllow arrived there, summoned by Wagner to assist him in one more of his ambitious musical projects, which were now coming to life under the auspices of the adolescent king. The famous conductor arrived in the company of his wife Cosima, the natural daughter of Franz Liszt and Countess Marie d'Agoult. The couple and the composer had known each other long before, it was not the first time they had spent time in Wagner's company, but this time it was different.
Cosima and Richard
Richard and Cosima Wagner. Photograph, 1872
Cosima seemed unhappy in her marriage and soon fell under Richard's sway. After six years of extramarital affairs, Cosima, 32, and Richard, 56, made their holy vows in August 1870. By this time, they had already conceived three children. The last was named Siegfried, born in 1869.
A symphonic gift
On 24 December 1870, Cosima turned 33. The couple had been living in the villa Tribschen on Lake Lucerne since they moved there as a couple in 1866. Wagner decided to greet the birth of his last child and Cosima's first birthday as his legitimate wife in a special way.
A small group of musicians set up on the entrance staircase and woke Cosima up with the first bars of a short chamber piece composed a few weeks earlier, entitled, for the occasion, "Symphonic Birthday Gift". Cosima noted in her diary that new and wonderful music had roused her from her sleep.
The Siegfried Idyll
Originally, the work was not intended for publication, but due to financial difficulties, Wagner was forced to publish it in 1878, under the title Siegfried Idyll. The charming piece, lasting no more than twenty minutes, is one of the composer's few symphonic works. Its themes were, predictably, incorporated into the 1876 opera Siegfried.
The performance is by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Donald Runnicles.
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