The Wind Serenade Op.102, was Wilhelm Berger’s last work, written 1910 shortly before he died following a long illness and an operation. It was first performed in Berlin after his death, and was very well received.
He handles the different instruments with skill and imagination, creating a whole as well as a mass of delightful detail. Apart from omitting the contra-bassoon, Berger has adopted the same instrumental ensemble as did Richard Strauss for his Serenade and Suite.
The music is in the fine tradition of romantic writing for wind, but Berger abandons the classical arrangement of movements and produces new and exciting changes of mood, key and colour. The manuscript is held in the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek in Berlin, who made a copy available for the preparation of the first edition of the Serenade Op. I02, first published by Phylloscopus Publications, editors F.H. Nex and C.M.M. Nex. This brand new edition, published nearly 30 years later, is also edited by F.H. Nex and C.M.M. Nex.
