‘Lachner speaks the authentic tone of the Suite: Franz Lachner's Orchestral Suites in their historical context' is a contribution to volume 69 of the series Munich Music-historical Publications, a volume celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of the composer Franz Lachner, Wagner's principal adversary in the Bavarian capital. Lachner resurrected the genre of the orchestral suite in 1861, in an attempt – as his brother Vinzenz explained – to provide concert repertoire less taxing on audience sensibilities than Beethoven's symphonies. His suites achieved considerable popularity in their time and influenced a number of subsequent composers, notably Tchaikovsky, Dvořák and Debussy. This chapter has the following sections. ‘1. Franz Lachner's artistic purpose in resurrecting the genre of the suite.' ‘2. Lachner's Suites'; this section presents, in conjunction with Table 1, a full listing of Lachner's 10 suites, including those not for ‘large orchestra', with chronological and bibliographical details (the first such listing), and the section discusses Lachner's designation of the suites for large orchestra as ‘symphonic'. ‘3. Context and relation to baroque models.' ‘4. Stylistic characteristics of Lachner's orchestral suites'; this section is illustrated by analytic tables in the German manner and extensive music examples. ‘5. The spread and influence of Lachner's concept.' The work in this section builds on discoveries made during Pascall's completion of the New Oxford History Vol. IX (after Gerald Abraham's passing).