Brahms: Serenade No. 1 (Urfassung); Serenade No. 2

by Linos-Ensemble

Overview

Brahms' two serenades are products of his first mature years, and they indeed have a youthful exuberance in their melodic quality. The composer is said to have been studying Haydn's symphonies when he wrote them, but the model is rather the wind serenades of Mozart (which he also knew). The tension between the basic pastoral outdoor mood of the serenade genre and some spiky rhythmic complexities seems especially marked by Mozart. The Linos Ensemble here offers a reconstruction by Jorge Rotter of the original version of the Serenade No. 1 in D major, Op. 11, which Brahms later orchestrated and even thought about calling a symphony. Rotter's version is well worth hearing (and Brahms struggled with this work for so long that there is really nothing wrong with second-guessing him). It is clear, and it brings out the rhythmic interest in the work in a way that the orchestral version does not. The Serenade No. 2 in A major, Op. 16, was also written for a larger ensemble, and the Linos players reduce it in size as well, deploying just one string player per part. The intention was perhaps similar to what they were aiming for with the slimmed-down D major serenade, but it doesn't work as well; the string parts seem to recede into the background. The lively and melodically appealing Serenade No. 1 here is well worth listeners' time and money, however, and Capriccio's sound from the Saarland Radio studios is excellent. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	06/03/2022
Label:	Capriccio Records
UPC:	0845221054476
Rank:	7872

Tracks

1. Serenade Nr. 1 D-Dur, Op. 11~I. Allegro molto
2. Serenade Nr. 1 D-Dur, Op. 11~II. Scherzo. Allegro non troppo
3. Serenade Nr. 1 D-Dur, Op. 11~III. Adagio non troppo
4. Serenade Nr. 1 D-Dur, Op. 11~IV. Menuetto I - II - Coda
5. Serenade Nr. 1 D-Dur, Op. 11~V. Scherzo. Allegro
6. Serenade Nr. 1 D-Dur, Op. 11~VI. Rondo. Allegro
7. Serenade Nr. 2 A-Dur, Op. 16~I. Allegro moderato
8. Serenade Nr. 2 A-Dur, Op. 16~II. Scherzo
9. Serenade Nr. 2 A-Dur, Op. 16~III. Adagio non troppo
10. Serenade Nr. 2 A-Dur, Op. 16~IV. Quasi menuetto
11. Serenade Nr. 2 A-Dur, Op. 16~V. Rondo. Allegro

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Linos-Ensemble   Primary Artist,Ensemble

Technical Credits

Mario Blaumer   Liner Notes
Jens F. Laurson   Liner Note Translation
Angelika Heinze   Liner Note Translation
Nora Brandenburg   Mastering,Recording Supervision,Editing
Thomas Becher   Engineer
Liliya Kulianionak   Cover Photo
Johannes Bosch   Liner Notes
Johannes Brahms   Composer