Dvoark Serenade

The suite is in three movements the first and last of which has flashing woodwind in the style of Bach's second suite for orchestra with its prominent role for flickering solo flute. Bachian lightness and Regerian lumber meet and for the most part settle in favour of the lighter hand. The contrasting central largo is rather modern in style. The substantial Serenade in G Major is for full orchestra. Its first movement boasts memorably satiny strings. The style? Well, if Brahms 1 was spoken of by some as Beethoven's 10th symphony then this is Brahms' Third Serenade. A contented Beethovenian allegro.

An apparently harmless phrase can hide something altogether darker. That quote neatly sums up Triosk’s second album The Headlight Serenade. Brilliantly recorded by the young Australian trio, the album’s crystal clarity makes it sound like it’s floating on air. Triosk’s inventiveness and enthusiasm to rethink musical boundaries makes The Headlight Serenade a striking, living work. Rarely is such cerebral music so engaging.

Felix Draeseke is described in the accompanying booklet to this CD as ‘a composer’s composer’; not a promising introduction, really! And it proves to be borne out by the quality of the music in the 2nd Symphony in F. It is worthy, well-crafted, and original in some details but ultimately quite dull, and lacking in sufficient individuality of character to allow it to stand out in what after all is one of the most densely populated areas of music history – the late 19th century. In more recent times, his reputation was done lasting harm by his being enthusiastically promoted by the Nazis as "… one of the most pure-blooded German musicians".