Italian Serenade

Obsessively interested in song, Wolf had little time or inclination for chamber music. Before he was totally consumed by the inspiration he found in the poetry of Goethe and Mörike, however, he did complete three works for string quartet, including a one-movement Serenade in G. Now always known as the Italian Serenade, although that title properly belongs to the orchestral arrangement, the Serenade in G is a delightful score abundant in those qualities - the gift for melody, the sense of humour, the flair for characterisation - that made Wolf the great song-composer he was.

Obsessive song-composer as he was, Wolf had little time or inclination for chamber music. Before he was totally consumed by the inspiration he found in the poetry of Goethe and Mörike, however, he did complete three works for string quartet - a String Quartet in D minor in 1884, an Intermezzo in E flat in 1886 and a Serenade in G in 1887. Now always known as the Italian Serenade, although that title properly belongs to the orchestral arrangement he started four years later, the Serenade in G is the only one of the three to hold a regular place in the repertoire. It’s a delightful score abundant in those qualities - the gift for melody, the sense of humour, the flair for characterisation - that made Wolf the great song-composer he was.

Obsessive song-composer as he was, Wolf had little time or inclination for chamber music. Before he was totally consumed by the inspiration he found in the poetry of Goethe and Mörike, however, he did complete three works for string quartet – a String Quartet in D minor in 1884, an Intermezzo in E flat in 1886 and a Serenade in G in 1887. Now always known as the Italian Serenade, although that title properly belongs to the orchestral arrangement he started four years later, the Serenade in G is the only one of the three to hold a regular place in the repertoire. The string-quartet original is less often performed than the orchestral version but it is a no less seductive demonstration of the gift for melody, the sense of humour, the flair for characterisation and the fascination with the South that made Wolf the song-composer he was. Between the three appearances of the sinuous but slightly ironic main theme there are two dramatic little episodes: in the first of them the sighing lover represented by viola and cello is answered by a passionate outburst high on the two violins, whereas in the other his protestations on the cello meet only with derision.