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- Herbert, Victor
Duration: 20 minutes
Description: SERENADE FOR STRINGS, Op. 12 was composed in 1884 while Victor Herbert (1859-1924) was still based in Germany and playing as a cellist. The work received its first documented performance in December 1888 at Steinway Hall, New York, under Herbert’s own direction. Structurally the five-movement serenade (1. Aufzug; 2. Polonaise; 3. Liebes-Szene; 4. Canzonetta; 5. Finale) shows Herbert’s mastery of rich string textures, charming melodies and romantic contrasts, and the moment when he had absorbed both his continental training and his emerging American musical identity. Although Herbert is more widely remembered today for his operettas and lighter stage works, this SERENADE remains a fine example of his serious instrumental writing and is still programmed by string ensembles and chamber orchestras as a pleasing “Romantic string suite” that bridges the 19th-century European tradition and the growing American orchestral scene. The set includes a string count of 8.8.5.5.5. Reprint edition.