Tchaikovsky spent the summer and autumn of 1880 at his sister’s country estate in Kam’ianka, Ukraine, where he sought peace and relaxation. But after a short time the desire to work took hold of him again. I’m sketching a symphony or string quintet just now; I don’t know where it’s going yet, he wrote to his friend and patroness Nadezhda von Meck. In the end it turned out to be a Serenade for String Orchestra, which numbers among his most beautiful inspirations and is today a central work in the genre. The four movements captivate with their diverse moods be it the Mozartian first movement in the form of a sonatina, the elegant Waltz, the melancholy Elegia or the rousing Finale. For this new source-critical edition it was possible to consult the autograph in Moscow as well as the early printed editions into which Tchaikovsky sometimes entered a number of minor revisions. Clear the stage for the new reference edition of this indispensable work of the string-orchestra repertoire!