In his Serenade no. 2 op. 16, composed in 1858–60, Brahms keeps to the usual, smaller, scoring for this genre, using pairs of winds and horns as well as low strings (no violins!). His friend Clara Schumann was “delighted” with the work, but the public reaction was restrained and even Brahms himself was not happy with some details.

Thus 15 years after the first performance he rigorously revised the serenade. We are now publishing this definitive version from 1875 that was “new, revised by the ...