Johannes Brahms composed his D major Serenade between 1857 and 1859 – first for small orchestra, then for large orchestra. The premiere of this final version took place on 3 March 1860 in Hanover under the baton of Joseph Joachim. The first edition (score and parts) was published in 1860/61 by Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig. The present edition is based on the Complete Edition Johannes Brahms – Complete Works – of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Vienna, published by Breitkopf & Härtel in 1927.