The Symphony No. 4, H. 305, by

Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. He bec ...

was composed in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

from April 1945, and completed at Martinů's summer home at

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

in June 1945. The finale bears the inscription ''South Orleans, 14th June, 1945''. The work is in four movements and, according to the composer, grows out of a single motif. The first movement alternates between lyrical and rhythmical material presented in variation. The second movement, in 6/8 time is a Scherzo, marked by a rhythmically irregular Dvořákian leading melody. The slow third movement is dominated by the strings with short passagework for the woodwind. The finale is an energetic reworking of earlier material and concludes with a vibrant tutti. The work is dedicated to his friends Helen and William Ziegler, and was premiered on 30 November 1945 at the Academy of Music in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

by the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

under

Eugene Ormandy Eugene Ormandy (born Jenő Blau; November 18, 1899 – March 12, 1985) was a Hungarian-born American conductor and violinist, best known for his association with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as its music director. His 44-year association wit ...

Movements

#Poco moderato #Scherzo. Allegro vivo. Trio. Moderato #Largo #Poco allegro

Selected discography

Martinů's Fourth Symphony is found amongst the earliest extant recordings of Martinů symphonies in archival holdings. The earliest is

's recording of the Second Symphony with the

, made on 20 January 1945. The Fourth Symphony followed soon after, with

aircheck In the radio industry, an aircheck is generally a demonstration recording, often intended to show off the talent of an announcer or programmer to a prospective employer, but mainly intended for legal archiving purposes. A ''scoped'' (short for "te ...

recordings on 78 rpm discs of a broadcast by the

Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is an American orchestra based in the city of Rochester, New York. Its primary concert venue is the Eastman Theatre at the Eastman School of Music. History George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak Company ...

conducted by

Erich Leinsdorf Erich Leinsdorf (born Erich Landauer; February 4, 1912 – September 11, 1993) was an Austrian-born American conductor. He performed and recorded with leading orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States and Europe, earning a ...

, on WNBC (New York), 27 March 1948. Neither of these recordings has ever been released commercially.

Rafael Kubelik Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California * Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israeli manufacturer of weapons and military technology * Hurricane Rafael, a 2012 hurricane Fiction * Rafa ...

recorded the Fourth Symphony for the radio on 10 June 1948, and this recording was eventually given commercial release in 2012.Gary Lemco,
Classical Reissue Reviews: ''Great Czech Conductors: Rafael Kubelik''
. ''Audiophile Audition: Web Magazine for Music, Audio & Home Theater'' (7 June 2012, accessed 15 October 2012); Brian Reinhart, "''Great Czech Conductors: Rafael Kubelík''. SUPRAPHON SU 4080-2". ''Musicweb International'' (accessed 15 October 2012). * Czech Philharmonic —

Supraphon Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, oriented mainly towards publishing classical music and popular music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers. History The Supraphon name was first registered as a trademark in 1932. T ...

, recorded 10 June 1948 (first issued 2012) * Czech Philharmonic — Martin Turnovský. Supraphon, 1967 * Czech Philharmonic —

Wolfgang Sawallisch Wolfgang Sawallisch (26 August 1923 – 22 February 2013) was a German conductor and pianist. Biography Wolfgang Sawallisch was born in Munich, the son of Maria and Wilhelm Sawallisch. His father was director of the Hamburg-Bremer-Feuerversich ...

. Supraphon 1977 (released 2013) * Czech Philharmonic —

Václav Neumann Václav Neumann (29 October 1920 – 2 September 1995) was a Czech conductor, violinist, violist, and opera director. Life and career Neumann was born in Prague, where he studied at the Prague Conservatory with Josef Micka (violin), and Pav ...

. Supraphon, 1978 *

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is a music organisation based in Liverpool, England, that manages a professional symphony orchestra, a concert venue, and extensive programmes of learning through music. Its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmon ...

—

Walter Weller Walter Weller (30 November 1939 – 14 June 2015) was an Austrian-born conductor and classical violinist. He made several recordings over the years, founded his own string quartet. and led/co-led several well known orchestras and operas. Weller ...

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

, 1980 *

Bamberg Symphony The Bamberg Symphony (German: Bamberger Symphoniker – Bayerische Staatsphilharmonie) is a German orchestra based in Bamberg. It is one of the most prestigious orchestras in Germany. The orchestra was formed in 1946 mainly from German musicians ...

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Neeme Järvi Neeme Järvi (; born 7 June 1937) is an Estonian American conductor. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn. He initially studied music there, and later in Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevgeny Mravinsky, and Nikolai Rabinovich, ...

. BIS, 1987 *

Scottish National Orchestra The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) ( gd, Orcastra Nàiseanta Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a British orchestra, based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Throughout its history, the Or ...

—

Bryden Thomson Bryden Thomson (16 July 1928 – 14 November 1991) was a Scottish conductor remembered especially for his championship of British and Scandinavian composers. His recordings include influential surveys of the orchestral music of Hamilton Harty a ...

. Chandos CHAN 8917, recorded 6 & 7 September 1989 * Ukrainian National Symphony —

Arthur Fagen Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best abr ...

, 2001 *

Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra The Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra (''Symfonický orchestr Českého rozhlasu'', Czech acronym SOČR, English acronym PRSO) is a Czech broadcast orchestra based in Prague, the Czech Republic. The SOČR performs concerts at the Dvořák Hall of th ...

–

Vladimír Válek Vladimír Válek (born 2 September 1935, in Nový Jičín) is a Czech conductor. He was conductor of the Prague Symphony for 10 years, in which he made his first tours of Europe and the United States He was the Principal Conductor of the Slovak P ...

, cond. Bohuslav Martinů: Symphonies Nos. 1–6. Recorded Prague, Czech Radio, Studio A, 2006. 3-CD set. Supraphon SU 3940. Prague: Supraphon, 2008. *

BBC Symphony The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...

—

Jiří Bělohlávek Jiří Bělohlávek, (; 24 February 1946 – 31 May 2017) was a Czech conductor. He was a leading interpreter of Czech classical music, and became chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in 1990, a role he would serve on two occasio ...

Onyx Onyx primarily refers to the parallel banded variety of chalcedony, a silicate mineral. Agate and onyx are both varieties of layered chalcedony that differ only in the form of the bands: agate has curved bands and onyx has parallel bands. The c ...

, 2011

Bohuslav Martinů Complete Edition

In 2015, Sharon Andrea Choa's critical edition of the ''Symphony No. 4'' was published by

Bärenreiter Bärenreiter (Bärenreiter-Verlag) is a German classical music publishing house based in Kassel. The firm was founded by Karl Vötterle (1903–1975) in Augsburg in 1923, and moved to Kassel in 1927, where it still has its headquarters; it also ...

within the

Bohuslav Martinů Complete Edition The Bohuslav Martinů Complete Edition (BMCE; Souborné vydání děl Bohuslava Martinů in Czech) aims to publish the complete works of Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů (1890–1959). The BMCE is a complete historical critical edition of all the ...

Movements

Selected discography

Bohuslav Martinů Complete Edition

References

Further reading