Stenhammar: Serenade in F Major

 

The greatest from Stenhammar?
Well, at least I read that somewhere, but for me personally, I am not so sure.

The Serenade in F Major for orchestra is certainly an affable work. When I hear the term serenade, I expect a certain sort of breeziness, and Stenhammar certainly gives that here.

That airiness sort of reminds me of listening to Delius, where I need to be in a certain mood to enjoy it, despite its inherent loveliness. Stenhammar provides a little more muscle compared to Delius, yet over six movements, wears a little thin for me.

In that regard, there is a little bit of the Impressionistic here, at least compared to the conservative Romanticism Stenhammar usually slathers over his music. Fun little dots of orchestral color teem around his musical ideas more than rigid structures and formalist melodies.

The back-to-back Reverenza movement and Canzonetta almost need a short palate cleanser betwixt them, for the serenades begin to make me sleepily swoon, although the following Scherzo does the job very well. Truthfully, it is the opening and closing movements which do the most for me, where the four movements in between set the scene more than move me.

There are a number of recording of the work. Since I am going through the BIS, set, I am using Neeme Järvi's 40+-minute recording from 1986. It has since been boxed up with Stenhammar's symphonies and concertos, which makes it much more appealing on disc.

Almost all of the recorded competition comes in faster than Järvi, so perhaps my current somnambulism comes from this source. Otherwise, Blomstedt, Lindberg, and Koivula have newer recordings well under 40 minutes, yet some might like Järvi's light, easy way with this music.

Is it the greatest music from Stenhammar? Well, it is one of the composer's most different scores, so perhaps in that regard it is. For me, it is a little too light for a little too long, even if the music itself is perfectly attractive.

Listen on YouTube

Work
Serenade in F Major
   I. Overture (6.54)
  II. Reverenza (6.55)
 III. Canzonetta (6.30)
 IV. Scherzo (6.44)
  V. Nocturne (7.26)
 VI. Finale (8.14)

Performers
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra
   Neeme Järvi, conductor

Label: BIS
Year: 1986
Total Timing: 42.33

 

 

Find more Stenhammar recording HERE!