It was a lovely idea to pair these two delightful works, though I suspect that most collectors who fancy Brahms's First Serenade will also want the Second. In which case, there are at least three alternative CDs that couple the two together, Haitink, Joeres and Kertesz being at the top of my own list of bargain-price preferences. And yet the pairing with Stenhammar suggests many interesting points of contrast, not least a questing inventiveness that recalls Sweden's other estimable early symphonist, Franz Berwald.
The very opening has a breezy, extrovert quality that recalls early Nielsen, but thereafter the twists and turns in Stenhammar's writing are more reminiscent of Sibelius, even Strauss or Reger. The waltz-like 'Canzonetta' is quietly melancholic (though Davis favours a far swifter tempo than Neeme Jarvi on BIS), and the Scherzo is impishly playful (save for a sombre second episode that initially sounds like Deep River). The 'Notturno' fourth movement has the sort of absorbing fairy-tale atmosphere that recalls the glittering masterpieces of Rimsky's school.
Stenhammar's original design incorporated six rather than five movements (the missing 'Reverenza' is included on Jarvi's recording), but Sir Andrew Davis makes as strong a case as anyone for the revision. He offers a lean, keen-edged reading that keeps squarely to the plot. Tempos are similar to those on Stig Westerberg's EMI recording with the same orchestra; the playing is expressive and energetic, and the recording captures it well.
The Brahms is an altogether more relaxed piece and is here given a fresh, unmannered reading, vigorous in the opening Allegro molto, bouncy in the closing Rondo and with plenty of light and shade between. Rather than make points merely for the sake of it, Davis keeps to a workable interpretative mean and has his players perform as if in a chamber ensemble. Again, the sound is unexceptional but pleasing. If the coupling appeals, then I can't imagine that any prospective purchaser will be disappointed.'