Serenade No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11

Quick Facts

• Composed between 1857-59
• Premiered (full orchestra version) in 1860 with the Hanover Court Orchestra conducted by Joseph Joachim.
• Six movements:
  1. Allegro molto
  2. Scherzo
  3. Adagio non troppo
  4. Minuet
  5. Scherzo
  6. Rondo¹

About the Piece

• Serenade No. 1 in D Major represents Brahms’s first purely orchestral work. The original manuscript was written as a nonet but revised for orchestra at the recommendation of the composer’s friend and colleague, Joseph Joachim. Joachim expressed that the music seemed “of a symphonic character.”
• The work is classical in style, evoking the instrumental music of Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, and Schubert.
  • Fun fact: at the 1860 premiere, Brahms programmed his Serenade No. 1 with Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante K.364 (in which he played the solo violin part).²

1. “Serenade No.1, Op.11 (Brahms, Johannes),” IMSLP, accessed June 4, 2024, https://imslp.org/wiki/Serenade_No.1,Op.11(Brahms,_Johannes).
2. Michael Musgrave, “Preface: Serenade no. 1 in D major op. 11,” G. Henle Verlag, accessed June 4, 2024, https://www.henle.de/en/Serenade-no.-1-in-D-major-op.-11/HN-9857.