Bertini manages to combine an eager, joyful approach to these two scores with a feeling of warmth and mellowness. In the First Serenade he takes the opening Allegro molto movement at a briskish tempo, but there's a delightfully sunny, dancing quality in the Vienna Symphony Orchestra's playing. In Scherzo I Bertini underlines the triple rhythms more clearly than I have heard before, and there's an attractive, trotting quality in Minuets I and II, though here the less than top quality of the VSO's string section is made apparent. Scherzo II also has a bright-eyed, lively nature in Bertini's hands, and a gruffly good-humoured account of the rondo finale concludes a performance which in all but one respect is first rate. The one drawback lies in the third movement Adagio. Bertini decides to take this at quite a fast tempo and there's a slightly unsettled, worried feel to the music. It's not a serious miscalculation, but in the context of such a fine performance generally just a slight disappointment.
A third hearing of Kertesz's Decca performance has increased my respect for his skill in obtaining a clear, cogent account of the score, but I still feel that an element of warmth and affection is missing. How I wish that he would caress phrases a bit more and show a little more wit. There's plenty of bright, alert playing, but it's all just a touch inexpressive. Abbado's DG performance still wins the day, I feel. He yields nothing to Bertini in the personality of his conducting, but he is even more subtle and a little more relaxed in his use of phrase and inflection. He takes the third movement at a more appropriately slower basic tempo, and moulds the music with great care and skill.
Bertini's account of Serenade No. 2 has similar virtues to his performance of No. 1. Here the scoring favours the VSO rather more, since the delightfully effervescent quality of their woodwind is brought to the fore. In this case the slow movement is taken at an admirably sensible tempo, and the music's natural grace and warmth emerge easily and naturally. The faster movements are all a delight in Bertini's hands. Orfeo have provided him with a good, pleasant recording, with perhaps a touch of shrillness in the upper strings. His is a more effective coupling of the two serenades than Kertesz's, though the latter is on Decca's bargain-price Weekend series. Abbado's disc, though admirable artistically, contains just the Serenade No. 1, and is at full price.'