„I accidentally wrote a serenade for strings in four movements [...] Whether it’s because this is my latest creation or because it’s not that bad, I just love this serenade terribly [...]. It is a very simple form, as only 5 voices are needed.” – thus Tchaikovsky announced the Serenade for Strings in C major op. 48 to his publisher Jurgenson. The first public performance took place in St. Petersburg in the fall of 1881, and the success of the serenade subsequently continued internationally, through the composer’s tours of Western Europe.

In addition to Mozart’s influences, there are also folk-song features in the Serenade, which is one of Tchaikovsky’s best-known orchestral works. The catchy melodies are carried by a dense symphonic string sound. For this effect and for performance practice, Tchaikovsky gave the indication in the autograph and first printing, “The more numerous the string orchestra, the more it will correspond to the composer’s wishes.”

With the present edition, the editor Tanja Geschwind presents the first Urtext edition of this Serenade.