Richard Wagner composed the 'Siegfried Idyll' as a birthday present to his second wife, Cosima, after the birth of their son Siegfried in 1869. It was first performed on Christmas morning, 25 December 1870 by a small ensemble of the 'Tonhalle Orchester Zürich' on the stairs of their villa at Tribschen (today part of Lucerne), Switzerland. Wagner originally intended the 'Siegfried Idyll' to remain a private piece. However, due to financial pressures, he decided to sell the score to publisher B. Schott in 1878. In doing so, Wagner expanded the orchestration to 35 players to make the piece more marketable. Dutch arranger Rolf Verbeek transcribed the 'Siegried Idyll' for a (small) Symphonic Band.
