 Although not formally published until 1892, the "Serenade" is believed to be a reworking of a suite Elgar had written some years earlier, before he had firmly set his sights on a career as a composer.Apart from the two suites called "The Wand of Youth", it is therefore probably the earliest of his compositions to survive into the standard repertoire.Certainly, it has a youthful charm while at the same time displaying indications of the skills Elgar developed as he progressed towards musical maturity.