Album review: Orchestra Zurich, David Zinman, Egils Silins, Wagner In Switzerland (RCA Red Seal)

It's easy to overlook how important his stay in Zurich was to Wagner's development. Having fled there in exile following his participation in the failed Dresden Uprising of 1849, the composer would crystallise his ideas of musical drama in the city, through a series of essays, and more concretely in his prodigious output while resident there.

This programme by the Tonhalle Orchestra under David Zinman features only excerpts from works either conducted or composed there, including a stirring “Ride of the Valkyries” and “Sunrise and Siegfried's Rhine Journey”, both hugely inspired by his walks through the Himalayas. Latvian bass-baritone Egils Silins also brings a commanding presence.

Download: Die Frist ist um; Ride Of The Valkyries; Sunrise and Siegfried's Rhine Journey