90, was met with open rejection in Munich, so he postponed the project of the Hiller Variations and initially composed the Serenade in G major, Op.

[1] The work consists of the initial exposition of Hiller's theme followed by eleven variations and a concluding fugue.

Like many of Reger's orchestral works, the piece is heavily Brahmsian in both style and sound, even though there is a lot of Wagnerian chromaticism in some variations (Var.

Writing in 1921, the American critic and musicologist James Huneker noted: Max Reger pinned his faith to Brahms and absolute music, though not without an individual variation.

In considering his Sinfonietta, the Serenade, the Hiller Variations, the Prologue to a Tragedy, the Lustspiel overture, the two concertos respectively for pianoforte and violin, we are struck not so much by the masterly handling of old forms as by the stark, emotional content of these compositions.