| Symphony No. 4 | |
|---|---|
| by Jean Sibelius | |
 The composer (c. 1912) | |
| Key | A minor |
| Catalogue | Op. 63 |
| Composed | 1909–1911 |
| Publisher | Breitkopf & Härtel (1912) |
| Duration | Approx. 39 mins. |
| Movements | 4 |
| Premiere | |
| Date | 3 April 1911 |
| Location | Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland |
| Conductor | Jean Sibelius |
| Performers | Helsinki Philharmonic Society |
The Symphony No. 4 in A minor, Op. 63, is a four-movement work for orchestra written from 1909 to 1911 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.
The first, germinal ideas appear to have been piano sketches from September 1909 called 'The Mountain' and 'Thoughts of a Wayfarer', which may have ended up in the symphony's first and third movements, respectively. Moreover, in November 1910, Sibelius began working on a new orchestral song, for the Finnish soprano Aino Ackté, based on Poe's poem The Raven. By December, however, he had abandoned the project; nevertheless, some of the material from The Raven eventually made its way into the finale of the Fourth. In late 1911, Sibelius made a few minor changes in preparing the symphony for publication.[1][2]
History
editComposition
editPremiere
editInstrumentation
editMusic
editMovement I
editMovement II
editMovement III
editMovement IV
editContext and analysis
editModern reception
editRelation to Sibelius's other symphonies
editDiscography
editThe sortable table below lists commercially available recordings of the Symphony No. 4.
| No. | Conductor | Ensemble | Rec.[a] | Time | Recording venue | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leopold Stokowski | Philadelphia Orchestra | 1932 | Victor | |||
| 1 | Georg Schnéevoigt | Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra | 1934 | HMV, EMI Classics, Warner Classics | |||
| 1 | Sir Thomas Beecham | London Philharmonic Orchestra | 1937 | Abbey Road Studios | HMV, EMI Classics, Warner Classics | ||
| 1 | Paavo Berglund | Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra | 1968 | 35:24 | Kulttuuritalo | Finlandia | |
| 1 | Andrew Manze | BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra | 2011 | 39:56 | City Halls, Glasgow | BBC Music Magazine | |
| 1 | [[]] | [[]] | |||||
| 1 | [[]] | [[]] | |||||
| 1 | [[]] | [[]] |
Notes, references, and sources
edit- Notes
- ^ Refers to the year in which the performers recorded the work; this may not be the same as the year in which the recording was first released to the general public.
- ^ [ L. Stokowski–Victor () yyyy]
- ^ [ G. Schnéevoigt–Zzzzzz () yyyy]
- ^ [ T. Beecham–Zzzzzz () yyyy]
- ^ P. Berglund–Finlandia (4509–95843–2) 1990
- ^ A. Manze–BBC Music Magazine (BBCMM380) 2015
- ^ [ X. Xxxxxx–Zzzzzz () yyyy]
- ^ [ X. Xxxxxx–Zzzzzz () yyyy]
- ^ [ X. Xxxxxx–Zzzzzz () yyyy]
- References
- ^ Barnett 2007, pp. 200, 207–213.
- ^ Tawaststjerna 2008b, pp. 132, 136, 160–163, 174, 195–197.
- Sources