English suites and others no. 36

I didn't have any trouble finding high-quality English suites, or French suites, but it appears that, in 19th century German music, writing works called "Suite" was the province of deservedly minor composers – with one significant exception, which we'll get to. I'll also be subjecting you to a couple of those minor composers, but fortunately a suite doesn't necessarily have to be titled that.

For instance, the Serenades by Johannes Brahms, expansive multi-movement works built on the model of 18th-century suites. This is early Brahms, when he was still sometimes in a good humor, and here is his Serenade No. 2. This work is interestingly scored, for, though it has strings (only lower strings, no violins), they're there just for support purposes. This is a work for wind ensemble, something of a German specialty in those days.



The movements are: Allegro moderato (0.01), Scherzo (8.08), Adagio non troppo (10.45), Quasi menuetto (18.17), Rondo (23.16).