Symphony No. 4

Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major (WAB 104) is one of the composer's most popular works. It was written in 1874 and revised several times through 1888. It was dedicated to Prince Konstantin of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst. It was premiered in 1881 by Hans Richter in Vienna with great success. (In a well-known and amusing story that illustrates Bruckner's good-natured naivety, the composer gave a coin to the aristocratic conductor after... More

Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major (WAB 104) is one of the composer's most popular works. It was written in 1874 and revised several times through 1888. It was dedicated to Prince Konstantin of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst. It was premiered in 1881 by Hans Richter in Vienna with great success. (In a well-known and amusing story that illustrates Bruckner's good-natured naivety, the composer gave a coin to the aristocratic conductor after a successful rehearsal and told him to buy himself a beer.) The symphony's nickname of Romantic was used by the composer himself (see "Program" section below): however it does not refer to the modern conception of romantic love but rather the medieval romance as depicted in the operas Lohengrin and Siegfried of Richard Wagner. The symphony has four movements: These tempo markings are from the 1880 version. The 1888 version, edited by Benjamin Korstvedt in the Gesamtausgabe (Band IV Teil 3) has slightly different tempo marking, plus metronome...

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