Fuchs Robert: Serenades Nos. 3, 4 & 5

‘A richly endowed composer, selfless teacher, and a rare human being’ proclaims Robert Fuchs’ memorial stone, and this esteem is reflected in his astonishing roster of pupils – Mahler, Sibelius, Wolf and Korngold among them. His own compositions, though, have been overlooked, unaccountably so on the evidence of these lovely Serenades. The Third is quite Brahmsian with a wonderfully bracing Hungarian finale. No. 4 is a highly expressive and richly scored work, whilst No. 5 casts its net yet wider – with anticipations of Mahler, and joyous references to the Vienna of the Strauss family. Serenades Nos. 1 and 2 are available on Naxos 8572222.