Wagner: Parsifal Suite (Constr. A. Gourlay)

Featuring

Andrew Gourlay
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Richard Wagner

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Recording & Production

This recording of Andrew Gourlay's Parsifal Suite was made at Henry Wood Hall in London, UK, on July 4-5, 2022.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Richard Wagner, the composer of Parsifal, considered his operatic works to be a "Gesamtkunstwerk" or thoroughly integrated artistic vision, and for Parsifal, he coined the term "Ein Bühnenweihfestspiel" or 'A Festival Play for the Consecration of the Stage'.

Performer Biography

Andrew Gourlay, the conductor, won the 2010 Cadaqués International Conducting Competition and served as Assistant Conductor of the Hallé Orchestra for two years.

Performer Biography

The London Philharmonic Orchestra, founded in 1932 by Sir Thomas Beecham, has been the Resident Orchestra at Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall since 1992.

Interpretation

This Parsifal Suite by Andrew Gourlay is part of a tradition of orchestral suites based on operas and ballets, which allows instrumental highlights to be enjoyed in the concert hall.

Composer Biography

Richard Strauss, a renowned composer, was an ardent admirer of Wagner and attended the first performances of Parsifal in Bayreuth as a treat when his father, Franz Strauss, played horn in the orchestra.

Composition History

Wagner conceived Parsifal in 1857 while staying at a cottage belonging to Otto and Mathilde Wesendonck, but it was not finished until 1882, making it his final complete operatic work.