Cologne Chamber O:Ludwig - Fuchs: Serenades No. 3-5

A richly endowed composer, selfless teacher, and a rare human being' proclaims Robert Fuchs' memorial stone, and this esteem is reflected in his astonishing roster of pupils - Mahler, Sibelius, Wolf and Korngold among them. His own compositions, though, have been overlooked, unaccountably so on the evidence of these lovely Serenades. The Third is quite Brahmsian with a wonderfully bracing Hungarian finale. No. 4 is a highly expressive and richly scored work, whilst No. 5 casts its net yet wider - with anticipations of Mahler, and joyous references to the Vienna of the Strauss family. Serenades Nos. 1 and 2 are available on Naxos 8.572222.Currently Principal Conductor of the Gwangju Symphony Orchestra in South Korea, Christian Ludwig served as artistic director of the Cologne Chamber Orchestra from 2008 to 2011, conducting the orchestra at major venues in Paris, Munich, Rome and Cologne.