Fuchs: Serenades 3, 4, 5

Cologne Chamber Orchestra/Christian LudwigNaxos 8.572607 ***

Think of 19th-century serenades, and you probably think of orchestral works by Dvorak, Tchaikovsky or Brahms, or songs by any number of composers. But the Austrian composer Robert Fuchs (1847-1927), a close friend of Brahms (who admired his work), wrote no less than five serenades between 1874 and the end of the 19th century. They brought him fame in his lifetime, although he's better remembered today as an influential teacher – he numbered Mahler, Sibelius and Wolf among his pupils. Fuchs's music tends to be plaintive rather than angst-ridden, sunny rather than dark, and genial even when his markings call for fieriness. It's music written on the pleasure principle, and is always beautifully crafted. It lacks the individuality or spark that Brahms and Dvorak brought to lighter repertoire and the inventiveness of the Johann Strausses. But it still manages to charm. url.ie/af6o