Henschel, of Polish birth, was educated first and foremost as a pianist. However he subsequently, took up singing, having developed a fine baritone voice and in 1868 he sang the part of Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger at Munich. He was a close friend of Brahms and met with Tchaikovsky on a number of occasions.
In 1877, he began a successful singing career in England. He was also prominent as a conductor, starting the London Symphony Concerts in 1886, and becoming the first conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1881.
In 1890 he took British citizenship, and was knighted in 1914. He was the founder and principal conductor (1893–95) of the Scottish Orchestra (now the Royal Scottish National Orchestra), and retained close links with Scotland even when teaching in New York. He died at Aviemore, near Inverness, and is buried in the local churchyard.
As a composer he was always active throughout his career. Understandably vocal music featured highly but there are instrumental works too.
Serenade for String Orchestra in Canon Form (1874)
The circumstances of this work's composition are unclear, but it occurred while Henschel was completing his studies at the Berlin Academy of Music and was a regular guest at the dinners of Clara Schumann and Josef Joachim, the academy's director. 1874 was a very important year for Henschel, as he was invited for the first time as a soloist to a major festival (the Lower Rhine Music Festival in Cologne). More importantly, however, he met Max Bruch there, a composer who would become a close friend. The premiere of the Serenade was by Henschel with the Boston Symphony Orchestra on January 19, 1884.
The work consists of four movements, each of which serves to demonstrate Henschel's contrapuntal skill, as each section is based on an extensive canon that is almost entirely in two parts.
Here is the 2nd movement (Andante) marked in 6/8 time with the canon between the 1st violins and cellos.
