Arensky Sérénade Op. 30 No. 2 for Violin & Piano

Arensky's Sérénade is a lilting G major waltz in 3/4 and List C No. 1 on the ABRSM Grade 7 violin syllabus from 2024. This new engraving of the original violin and piano version gives you a clear score and a separate violin part, ready to print for lessons and the exam.

The violin opens with a singing tune over rolled piano chords that sound almost like a guitar. Grace notes, accents and slurred pairs run all through it, so the bow has to stay light and the left hand has to place each ornament without rushing the beat. Phrases rise high on the E string and finish on natural harmonics, and Arensky marks a rising figure on the D string (III) to keep the colour warm as it climbs. Two Meno mosso episodes give the player a longer cantabile line: the first stays in G major, and when it comes back it has moved into G minor, which brings a real touch of pathos before the theme returns.

In the closing Allegro the piano takes over the main tune and the violin holds long trills high on the E string above it. Check the violin part from bar 73 to see how much trill control and position work this asks for. The piece ends with four pizzicato chords, which need a confident left hand set early and a clean, ringing pluck.

At about two and a half minutes, the Sérénade makes a good List C choice for a candidate who sings rather than dazzles, and it works just as well as a recital opener or an encore. Itzhak Perlman and Mischa Elman both recorded it, and it has been part of the violin teaching repertoire since Jurgenson included it in a graded violin course in the early 1900s.

Check the score and parts preview images above, then watch the complete score video below. They'll give you a clear picture of the engraving quality and overall difficulty before you buy.

Key Features

• Instrumentation: violin and piano (the original version)
• Difficulty: approximately ABRSM Grade 7 (List C1, violin syllabus from 2024)
• Duration: approximately 2.5 minutes
• Style focus: lyrical waltz phrasing, grace notes and accents, natural harmonics, sustained trills high on the E string, pizzicato chords
• Format: PDF download, full score and violin part

Ideal for Grade 7 candidates choosing their List C piece, and for teachers who want an uncluttered part with room to add their own fingerings and bowings. It also gives advancing players a short, lyrical Romantic piece for a recital, a competition or a festival class.