Symphony No. 4 (Martinů)

Music#

The Fourth Symphony is scored for three flutes, piccolo, three oboes, cor anglais, three clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (triangle, wood block, tambourine, side drum, bass drum, cymbals, tam-tam), piano, and strings. The symphony has four movements:

Selected discography#

Martinů’s Fourth Symphony is found amongst the earliest extant recordings of Martinů symphonies in archival holdings. The earliest is Eugene Ormandy’s recording of the Second Symphony with the Philadelphia Orchestra, made on 20 January 1945. The Fourth Symphony followed soon after, with aircheck recordings on 78 rpm discs of a broadcast by the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Erich Leinsdorf, on WNBC (New York), 27 March 1948. Neither of these recordings has ever been released commercially. Rafael Kubelik recorded the Fourth Symphony for the radio on 10 June 1948, and this recording was eventually given commercial release in 2012. * Czech Philharmonic — Rafael Kubelik. Supraphon, recorded 10 June 1948 (first issued 2012) * Czech Philharmonic — Martin Turnovský. Supraphon, 1967 * Czech Philharmonic — Wolfgang Sawallisch. Supraphon 1977 (released 2013) * Czech Philharmonic — Václav Neumann. Supraphon, 1978 * Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra — Walter Weller. EMI, 1980 * Bamberg Symphony — Neeme Järvi. BIS, 1987 * Scottish National Orchestra — Bryden Thomson. Chandos CHAN 8917, recorded 6 & 7 September 1989 * Ukrainian National Symphony — Arthur Fagen. Naxos, 2001 * Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra – Vladimír Válek, 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 — Jiří Bělohlávek. Onyx, 2011 * Frankfurt Symphony Orchestra https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laI5pnq5X7g 2017

Bohuslav Martinů Complete Edition#

In 2015, Sharon Andrea Choa’s critical edition of the Symphony No. 4 was published by Bärenreiter within the Bohuslav Martinů Complete Edition.

Further reading#

• Crump, Michael David. 1986. “The Symphonies of Bohuslav Martinu: An Analytical Study”. M.Litt. diss. Birmingham: University of Birmingham.
• Crump, Michael. 2010. Martinů and the Symphony. Symphonic Studies, no. 3. London: Toccata Press. .
• Evans, Peter. 1960. “Martinu the Symphonist”. Tempo, new series, nos. 55–56 (Autumn–Winter): 19–26, 31–33.
• Halbreich, Harry. 2007. Bohuslav Martinů: Werkverzeichnis und Biografie, second, revised edition. Mainz, London, Berlin, Madrid, New York, Paris, Prague, Tokyo, and Toronto: Schott. .
• Layton, Robert. 1966. “Martinů and the Czech Tradition”. In The Symphony: Vol. II: Elgar to the Present Day, edited by Robert Simpson, pp. 218–29. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
• Llade, Martín. 2009. “Las sinfonías de Bohuslav Martinů”. Melómano: Revista de Música clásica 14, no. 144 (July–August): 58–62.
• Powell, Larson. 2007. “Sound as Form: Martinů’s Symphonies”. Music and Society in Eastern Europe, no. 2 (December): 77–115.
• Rathert, Wolfgang. 2009. “Die Sinfonien von Bohuslav Martinů: Ein Beitrag zur amerikanischen Musikgeschichte?” Musik-Konzepte neue Folge (November, special issue: Bohuslav Martinů), edited by Ulrich Tadday, 113–26. Munich: Edition Text + Kritik.