they are substantial pieces in their own right, and they emerge irresistable thanks to the easy flow of Chailly's conducting and the superb playing of his orchestra...Chailly and his orchestra own Brahms right now, and that is something few of their rivals could even attempt to challenge.

Chailly treats us to glinting textures, rhythmic clarity, and high-quality musicianship.

The swiftly pulsing violas and cellos that open Riccardo Chailly's Gewandhaus Orchestra account of the First Serenade contradict what many past interpreters have presented as genial and easy-going…[but this] superbly engineered coupling amounts to an essential refresher course, vital and instructive listening, though whether it'll alter your convictions remains to be seen. It certainly did mine.

Chailly brings a completely charming rustic swagger to the very opening of the first Serenade, with a kind of peasant-dance lilt...That's not to say there's any lack of refinement...It's difficult to think of performers who are more at home in this kind of music than Chailly and the Gewandhausorchester: enchanting from start to finish!

Lightness of texture and wit (and generally fast tempi) counterbalance symphonic weight in the outer movements of both works. It’s hard to imagine finer Brahms interpretation — a glorious pendant to Chailly’s Gewandhaus cycle of the four symphonies.

[Chailly] never imposes symphonic weight on music that simply wasn’t designed for it, nor does he ever drive it too intensely: he allows it to follow its own course...the phrasing of the Leipzig wind, and the suaveness of the strings, are constant delights. These might not be among Brahms’ greatest works, but it is hard to imagine how they could be performed more authoritatively.

The Leipzig Gewandhaus, an orchestra that Brahms himself conducted, has incontrovertible links with this sort of repertoire, but here that tradition is coupled with innovation. Chailly, while respecting and drawing upon the distinctive facets of the orchestra’s sound, invests it with a vital impulse and exuberance.

Bliss beckons immediately in the opening horn solo in the D major Serenade, op 11 — the first of the album’s multiple showcases for the mellifluously earthy Gewandhaus winds and brass...When coloured and polished with Chailly’s electrifying finesse, the results are beyond adorable.