The century was only twenty-one years old, and so was Ernst Krenek, when his Serenade op. 4 was premiered on 31 July 1921.�At first sight,...

The century was only twenty-one years old, and so was Ernst Krenek, when his Serenade op. 4 was premiered on 31 July 1921.�At first sight, it seems to cling stubbornly to the style of Krenek's teacher, Franz Schreker, and to Viennese Late Romanticism. It contains a whiff of Hugo Wolf's Italian Serenade.�Hans Gal's style remained rooted in the Vienna tradition of the "long" 19th century.�Penderecki: here we are dealing with a tranquil, subdued work that almost ventures into Schubertian confines