Hansjörg Albrecht – Wagner/Vlieger review: Tristan and Isolde

Just over ten years ago there was a CD with organ arrangements, then in 2016 an orchestral recording with “Ring without Words” and now “Tristan” as “Orchestral Passion”. Hansjörg Albrecht scored a purely symphonic adaptation of Wagner’s opera, shortened into seven sections, in the Henk de Vlieger version (1994), although “Vorspiel” and “Liebestod” are already well-documented orchestral works. With Staatskapelle Weimar’s romantic, warmly atmospheric late music, Albrecht succeeds in producing a convincing performance (including the recording technique), with as many balanced sections as chamber music, skillfully woven together with swelling and voluminous sections. The brass parts are carefully lit, and the individual notes fade gently. Successfully skinny Tristan with no signs of forced dieting.

Wagner/Vlieger: Tristan and Isolde – Orchestral Passion

Staatskapelle Weimar, Hansjörg Albrecht (conductor)
Ohm classics