Siegfried Idyll

Siegfried Idyll, original name Tribschener Idyll, symphonic poem for chamber orchestra by Richard Wagner that reflects a gentle, tender side of the composer. It premiered on Christmas Day 1870.

After the wife of the pianist and conductor Hans von Bülow had three children—Isolde (1865), Eva (1867), and Siegfried (1869)—with Wagner, von Bülow granted Cosima a divorce so that she was able to marry Wagner. The composer completed the Siegfried Idyll, his birthday present to his new wife, in secret. On the morning that they were to celebrate her birthday, a small group of musicians directed by Wagner played the new composition to awaken her. (The piece derived its original name from the site of Wagner’s home, Tribschen, near Lucerne.)