Brahms: Serenades Gewandhausorchester Leipzig & Franz Konwitschny

• Johannes Brahms (1833-1897): Serenade No.1 in D major, op.11
• 1 1. Allegro molto 11:31
• 2 2. Scherzo (Allegro non troppo) - Trio (Poco più moto) 06:29
• 3 3. Adagio non troppo 09:57
• 4 4. Menuetto I-II 03:42
• 5 5. Scherzo (Allegro) 02:19
• 6 6. Rondo (Allegro) 05:09
• Serenade No.2 in A major, op.16
• 7 1. Allegro moderato 07:04
• 8 2. Scherzo (Vivace) 02:33
• 9 3. Adagio non troppo 06:28
• 10 4. Quasi menuetto - Trio 04:37
• 11 5. Rondo (Allegro) 05:29
• Total Runtime 01:05:18

Info for Brahms: Serenades

Riccardo Chailly and the Gewandhaus Orchestra take another significant step in an extraordinary musical journey with the release of the two Brahms Serenades. The Serenades have been unjustly neglected and are rarely heard in concert, making them perfect repertoire for Chailly s enquiring mind. Widely respected as a conductor with a rare talent for transforming music ripe for rediscovery (Gramophone), his reading of the Serenades fits with his philosophy that all music must aspire to be new music again . The recording follows Chailly s multi-award-winning sets of the Brahms and Beethoven symphonies.

Chailly s radical approach to the symphonies produced a recording of trademark clarity according to Gramophone, which made the set its Record of the Year 2014 . It also won a BBC Music Magazine Award, the jury commenting: Chailly combines fiery athleticism with the warmly blended tonalities of the wonderful Leipzig orchestra. The results tingle with immediacy and a pulsating sense of momentum. Now Chailly brings the same questing spirit to the Serenades. The release highlights the importance of this repertoire in Brahms s evolution as a composer and orchestrator, making a significant statement and allowing the Serenades to emerge from the shadow of the symphonies. Newly reassessed as substantial masterworks in their own right, they show Brahms in an unexpected light: the Op. 11 offering a brightness, waggishness and humour that would later become rare in Brahms, in the words of musicologist Peter Korfmacher, while the Op. 16 Serenade is exotically scored for just wind and lower strings, creating a sense of pleasant shade rather than darkness. With playing that is multifaceted, multi-coloured light and delicate. The double-bass jokes can generate their wit, the music swings, and the colours glow, says Chailly.

With his extraordinary attention to detail and keen ear for musical nuance, Riccardo Chailly really gets to the heart of this richly rewarding music. This is the first Decca recording of these works since István Kertész recorded them in 1968. It is a worthy successor to another great Brahmsian and a historic recording which will bring new life to concert-hall rarities that are ripe for rediscovery.

„For an orchestra as steeped in the Austro-German tradition as the Gewandhaus is, playing Brahms has always been part of its raison d être. But Chailly brings a different perspective: as with Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Mahler, his approach is both mindful of the performing traditions and critical of them in the best, most constructive way. His Brahms is neither massive nor self-consciously sculpted, but still totally coherent.“ (The Guardian)

„. . . it's pleasing to have this excellent new recording from such an elite orchestra as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig under its renowned Gewandhauskapellmeister Riccardo Chailly . . . [Brahms 1]: One soon realises how conscientiously the Milan-born Chailly has prepared his Gewandhausorchester which shows in a smoothly controlled and entirely sympathetic performance. Especially attractive is the opening "Allegro molto" starkly evocative of the sights and sounds of a sunlit Tyrolean countryside scene. The fourth movement "Menuetto I" and "Menuetto II" marry a chamber-like elegance with immense subtlety . . . [Brahms 2]: Chailly draws exquisite playing, enlivening the pulse and captivating the heart. I especially relished the sunny bucolic character of the inspired "Adagio" with its enchanting short passage for low strings. It's hard to imagine the Second Serenade being played better than this . . . The Decca sound is clear and the balance and presence realistic . . . Brahms's pair of orchestral Serenades could not receive greater advocacy than these entirely convincing readings.“ (Michael Cookson, MusicWeb International)

„It is an absolute joy to have these rather brisk, smiling performances of the two neglected early orchestral gems that Brahms wrote on the way to the symphonies . . . the breezy youthfulness of the present performances has a charming alfresco quality with vivacious tempi that neither undersell nor oversell the orchestral weight. Chailly and his vibrant orchestra, particularly the winds and horns, are flawlessly attuned to these scores, making this recording the very best version to own.“ (Bruce Surtees, Wholenote Magazine, Toronto)

Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Riccardo Chailly, conductor

No biography found.

Booklet for Brahms: Serenades