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Symphony 4, Tragic Overture
Kontrapunkt Nov 1992
CD
$22.99

Saint Saens: Symphony No. 3 Piano Concerto No. 4 / Les Siecles

HARMONIA MUNDI

$18.49 Dec 10, 2021

Camille Saint-Saëns, virtuoso pianist, organist and conductor, was also a great admirer of Liszt. His Symphony No.3, which adds both his chosen keyboard instruments to the orchestra, and his Piano Concerto No.4 utilize the codes of the old master, the better to transcend them. As partner of Les Siècles since 2017, harmonia mundi felt it was a must to reissue these fiery readings of two masterpieces in the great French Romantic tradition, for which François-Xavier Roth invited two eminent soloists.

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Saint Saens: Symphony No. 3 Piano Concerto No. 4 / Les Siecles
HARMONIA MUNDI Dec 2021
CD
$18.49

Lutoslawski: Symphony No. 4 / Violin Partita / Chain II / Fu
Naxos Jun 1996
CD
$19.99

Kempe in Italy Beethoven Symphony 4 and 7
Archipel Jan 2012
CD
$10.99

Anton Bruckner: Symphonies Nos. 4, 6 & 7

Andromeda

$16.99 Apr 29, 2014

Otto Klemperer is, to this day, still considered one of the great Bruckner conductors. His EMI studio recordings made in the 1960's remain benchmark reference recordings. This 3CD collection of live Bruckner recordings from the 1950's and 1960's, a welcome addition to his famed studio recordings, finds Klemperer leading three of the finest European orchestras. Newly remastered.

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Anton Bruckner: Symphonies Nos. 4, 6 & 7
Andromeda Apr 2014
CD
$16.99

Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5
DB Productions May 2003
CD
$18.99

Schumann: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4 / Gerard Schwarz, Seattle Symphony

Naxos

$19.99 Aug 28, 2012

The last of Schumann’s Symphonies to be composed, Symphony No 3 ‘Rhenish’ was most likely inspired by a cruise taken by the composer and his wife down the river Rhine. Alternating between austere splendour, great rhythmic suppleness and soaring lines, the work is an aural depiction of rural life by the river and the majestic cathedral in Cologne, and one that dares to reflect tensions between Classical form and Romantic innovation. So too does Symphony No 4, cast in four seamless movements that show Schumann’s masterly command of interrelated material and of symphonic unity.

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Schumann: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4 / Gerard Schwarz, Seattle Symphony
Naxos Aug 2012
CD
$19.99

Complete Symphonies, Op. 3 & 4

CPO

$51.99 Jul 17, 2026

The symphonic oeuvre of the still little-known composer Franz Ignaz Beck, the "Berlioz of the 18th century," is so crazily unconventional and bold that even today one can only marvel at the "modernity" of the contemporary Parisian audience, which was virtually at his feet. Beck turned out to be a progressive and individual "striker and pusher" in the truest sense of the word, opening up the expressive possibilities of his time far into the future. From Mannheim via Italy, Beck found his way to Marseille, where his symphonies developed into true centerpieces of the famous Parisian "Concerts spirituels" and went through numerous print runs. Our new set brings together six symphonies each from Opus 3 and 4. La Stagione on period instruments under the direction of Michael Schneider gives a brilliant and highly intense performance.

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Complete Symphonies, Op. 3 & 4
CPO Jul 2026
CD
$51.99

Schumann: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 (Live)

ICA Classics

$14.99 Aug 26, 2016

This is the first recording of Antonio Pappano conducting two of Schumann’s most popular symphonies, No. 2 in C major and No. 4 in D minor. Pappano brings his customary energy to the ensemble, while drawing out the magnificent beauty of the string section and the delicacies of the woodwind. His careful approach to detail makes this a commanding interpretation. Antonio Pappano began his conducting career as assistant at the Bayreuth Festival. He became music director of the Den Norske Opera in Oslo in 1990. Since 2005 he has been music director of this ensemble, the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He was knighted in 2012, and was made a Knight Grand Cross of Italy’s Order of Merit.

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Schumann: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 (Live)
ICA Classics Aug 2016
CD
$14.99

Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 / Hindoyan, RLPO

ONYX CLASSICS

$20.49 Feb 23, 2024

This recording of Bruckner's 4th Symphony, lead by Domingo Hindoyan, was taken from live performances in the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool. The excitement and drama of the concerts is superbly captured on this album. The symphony was completed in 1874 and underwent substantial revisions (including a new scherzo) in 1878 and 1880. The title 'Romantic' was applied after the composer added an informal programme for the pleasure of his friends.

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Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 / Hindoyan, RLPO
ONYX CLASSICS Feb 2024
CD
$20.49

Szymanowski: Symphonies No 3 & 4 / Antoni Wit, Warsaw Philharmonic [blu-ray Audio]

Naxos AudioVisual

Blu-Ray

$16.99 Sep 27, 2011

This is an audio-only (i.e., with no video content) Blu-ray disc playable only on Blu-ray players.

Szymanowski’s Symphony No. 3 ‘Song of the Night’ creates a potent atmosphere of Persian mysticism in its rich blend of voices and exotic orchestration. His Symphony No. 4 is largely extrovert in character and has a prominent rôle for piano. Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2 can be found on NBD0021. The CD release of Symphony No. 3 was Gramophone Editor’s Choice and given 5 STARS by ClassicFM (8.570721), and Symphony No. 4 an ‘unbeatable’ 10/10 from ClassicsToday.com ( 8.570722); the complete cycle acclaimed as ‘revelatory’ (ClassicalCDReview.com).

Reviews of the CD versions of these recordings

"Antoni Wit almost always can be relied on to deliver very thoughtful, beautifully musical, even inspired results, and there's no question that he conducts these works extremely well. The performances of both symphonies have a confidence and warmth about them that bespeaks a thorough understanding of Szymanowski's richly textured idiom. The Song of the Night (a.k.a. Symphony No. 3) has many of the same qualities that made Wit's Mahler Eighth so special: terrific choral singing, a bigness of conception that never precludes physical excitement, and very natural balances between vocal and instrumental forces."
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

"As previous issues in this series have shown, when Antoni Wit and his forces are in top form in the music of Szymanowski, they're pretty much unbeatable...The performance of the Symphonie Concertante, one of Szymanowski's greatest works, is superb. Pianist Jan Krzysztof Broja plays the solo part beautifully. He's got the chops for the big moments in the outer movements, but it's his delicacy at the start of the central andante that's most memorable. Wit, typically, directs the orchestra with remarkable clarity as well as power. The finale in particular never has sounded less "clogged" texturally, while the very natural engineering always leaves plenty of room for the sound to expand and fill the hall at those ecstatic climaxes that are such a hallmark of this composer. A splendid release!"
-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

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Szymanowski: Symphonies No 3 & 4 / Antoni Wit, Warsaw Philharmonic [blu-ray Audio]
Naxos AudioVisual Sep 2011
Blu-Ray
$16.99

SYMPHONY 4

LSO LIVE

SACD

$20.99 Sep 16, 2022

The air shimmers and glows, and somewhere in the mists, a solitary horn gives a lonely call. The stuff of fairytales? The truth is, it's impossible to write about Bruckner's majestic Fourth Symphony without letting the imagination soar; he never wrote anything more colorful, or more poetic. In Germany, they call it the 'Romantic' symphony, and it's easy to hear why. Sir Simon Rattle loves Bruckner's Fourth, and on this new recording from LSO Live, he conducts the work in all it's splendor: music that never gets any less stirring, and has never sounded so fresh. He is aware, too, that Bruckner's inspiration burned so brightly that he ended up with more ideas than he could actually use. "There is much wonderful music which remains almost entirely unplayed" he says. On this album he steps inside Bruckner's workshop, bringing to light some of the music that didn't make the final cut. This edition of the symphony and it's discarded Scherzo and Finale by Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs was published in 2021. The world premiere performance with Sir Simon Rattle and the LSO is a must-listen for lovers of Bruckner's music, and gives us a glimpse into the composer's untold musical thoughts.

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SYMPHONY 4
LSO LIVE Sep 2022
SACD
$20.99

David: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 / Wildner, ORF Radio-Sinfonieorchester Wien

CPO

$18.99 May 04, 2018

Four years after CPO issued an initial volume of David’s invigorating symphonies (Nos 1 and 6 on CPO 777 741-2 – Gary Higginson’s enthusiastic recommendation can be read here), we now get a second helping in performances that were seemingly laid down some three years before those on that disc. In contrast to death and taxes, CPO’s recording and release schedule are a mystery to us all (and a source of frustration to some). Having said that, those of us who feared for the recording of rare repertoire when CDs first emerged should simply be grateful for the stalwart work CPO actually do; who, thirty-odd years ago, could possibly have foreseen complete recorded cycles of Searle, Frankel and Wellesz symphonies, to name but three ‘Brits’ off the top of my head?

I can only reiterate my colleague’s enthusiasm for David’s symphonies. On paper, an expectation of ersatz Hindemith or Hartmann would be quite understandable. Descriptions of David’s music have often suggested dry, competent academicism – the reality seems very different. There is a clutch of stylistic allusions and comparisons one could make, but there is a great deal that is fresh, inspired and enjoyable about these works. Above all, they don’t meander; they appear to be really coherent and well-formed. This was my abiding impression of the first disc, and it applies here too. Indeed, the splendid Second Symphony on this disc lasts almost three-quarters of an hour – and I would argue that is not a moment too long.

Scored for a big orchestra, this work was completed by David in the summer of 1938 while he was holidaying in the upper Austrian highlands. It begins with a mysterious, chromatic theme played on a solo flute, before other solo woodwind instruments take on the melody and the sound and structure begin to fill out. These understated chamber-like wind textures belie what is to come. There are a lot of exposed solo lines in this work, which hint at a hibernal solitude. However, frenetic strings eventually join the fray, projecting a virility which certainly evokes Hindemith. The material evolves naturally from the original theme (indeed David embraces monothematicism throughout his symphonic corpus) and is developed most skilfully. Vibrant colours are achieved via judicious washes of tuned and untuned percussion which sporadically perforate the fuller orchestral textures. The mood of this music seems untouched by the date and place of its provenance – although it’s neither ecstatic nor joyful, it instead projects a sense of cautious optimism. One passage at 9’13 strongly evokes Hindemith’s great Harmonie der Welt symphony - David’s work pre-dates it by 13 years! As the movement heads toward its conclusion, with more adroitly played solo clarinet and bassoon, the mood briefly becomes more melancholy and terse. But this is a momentary reflection; the busy string gestures soon return and see us to the movement’s energetic, meaty conclusion which, in turn, suggests this composer’s true hero, Bruckner. Notwithstanding David’s fiercely twentieth century idiom the spirit of the Linz master is rarely far away in this music.

The two central movements, largo e cantabile and scherzo, are both relatively brief. The note quotes a contemporary critic as detecting a hint of Pfitzner’s operatic masterpiece Palestrina in the slow movement. Adopting an arch-like structure, it is an enigmatic, ambiguous essay which generates an uneasy calm. The string writing at its centre is glowingly beautiful. Rhythmically speaking the Scherzo is even more Brucknerian; here I detect something approaching bucolic joy, albeit one that’s oddly claustrophobic. The central trio section delights in strummed string effects. Some of the wind writing is almost jazzy and certainly gloriously sophisticated. The main theme soon gets under one’s skin. It ends abruptly - seemingly a David trademark.

The finale is a massive and ambitious passacaglia. I found it deeply impressive, but it requires effort on the part of the listener. It portentously reconstitutes the main theme from the first movement, initially stated in lower strings, and presents 31 superbly contrasting and interesting variations, seamlessly woven together with richly imaginative orchestration and plenty of opportunity for the principals of the ORF band to show off. There is a suppressed and not necessarily benign power at work in this compelling and measured movement. The ORF orchestra may lack the weight and sheen of their better- known Viennese counterparts but they invest this strange music with real passion and exceptional commitment. I suspect it would require a cold heart for a keen listener not to be moved by it. While I certainly found David’s Symphonies 1 and 6 to be technically accomplished and compelling, I believe this Second Symphony trumps them both. Needless to say, one cannot help but repeat the oft-asked question: where has this music been all my life?

The Symphony No 4 is harder work; it is effectively David’s ‘War’ Symphony. He made three attempts at writing it: the second draft was destroyed with his home in Leipzig during an air-raid in 1944. In fact, according to the booklet note, David rushed back into his burning house and rescued his son’s parakeets and what he thought was the almost-completed symphony. As it turned out it wasn’t – he thus reconstructed it from memory in a third and final draft which he completed in 1948. The opening dirge-like theme emerges gradually in winds and strings in the opening, brief slow movement. The brass provide more ominous colours which add to the prevailing solemnity - given the circumstances of the work’s gestation, this material seems more than apt. Gary Higginson mentioned Rubbra in his review of the earlier disc and there is again a hint of that composer’s controlled power in this movement. The pent-up energy is released in the following Allegro moderato, a terrific and compelling fugue. It builds inexorably with ripe timpani rolls and imaginative counterpoint towards a brass-dominated conclusion which again ends abruptly. Another Brucknerian Scherzo follows. The first half of this is oddly wistful and as light as air, suspended by what the note describes as “…impressionistically shimmering sonic ornaments…”. The orchestration in the middle section thickens momentarily before serene harp figurations puncture the flowing strings and winds. The movement concludes with a mercurial sense of urgency. At the outset of the fugal finale, the material heard at the opening of the work returns, somewhat shorn of any residual sentiment. It generates a somewhat muted, but not unappealing momentum. The orchestration throughout the finale is both transparent and vivid although its ending is somewhat troubled and ambiguous.

David’s Fourth Symphony then is a terse and rather compressed affair. It doesn’t disclose its qualities immediately and is the archetypal tough nut to crack. I’ve given it a few listens now and although I am beginning to like it, I feel it lacks some of the easier-going charm of its coupling here. Wildner leads the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra in searching and committed accounts of both works, although I didn’t find their efforts here quite as polished as those on their previous David disc. As mentioned, that was recorded three years later and I suspect the orchestra by then had better found their way with this composer’s distinctive idiom. The recording is faithful without being spectacular and I am happy to report that CPO’s documentation is first-class – there is a wonderfully detailed introduction to these works by Dr Bernhard A. Kohn (the keeper of the David archive) which has been translated into perfectly comprehensible English (not always the case with CPO). As with the previous volume it includes several musical examples of David’s thematic material. I hope we aren’t kept waiting too long for the next instalment in this fascinating series.

– MusicWeb International (Richard Hanlon)

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David: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 / Wildner, ORF Radio-Sinfonieorchester Wien
CPO May 2018
CD
$18.99

SYMPHONY 4 / SERENADE FOR STRINGS
ALTO Sep 2010
CD
$11.01

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Schumann: Symphonies Nos. 1-4
SWR Oct 2011
CD
~~$13.99~~ $6.99

Bruno Walter Edition - Brahms Symphony 4, Tragic Overture, Schicksalslied

Sony Masterworks

$17.99 Apr 26, 2010

The Columbia Symphony may not have been a first-class orchestra, but Bruno Walter trained to do the right things, and it responded with first-class accounts of the Brahms symphonies. While there are instances of less-than-crack ensemble, there is also some very fine first-desk playing, and the performances as a whole are marked by a natural feeling of movement, phrasing, and expression. Walter’s approach to the music is kindly, caring, wonderfully whole – sunny but not overly brilliant, warm but not overly heated, sincere but not overly impassioned. Anyone who thinks that means the conductor was slow, shapeless, or indulgent should listen. There is thrust here, and plenty of momentum. The recordings are closely miked and somewhat bass-heavy, but in Sony’s 20-bit remastering the sound is wonderfully alive and direct. – Ted Libbey, author of The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection

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Bruno Walter Edition - Brahms Symphony 4, Tragic Overture, Schicksalslied
Sony Masterworks Apr 2010
CD
$17.99

Mahler: Symphonies Nos. 4-6

Signum Classics

$41.99 May 27, 2014

Lorin Maazel and the Philharmonia Orchestra perform Mahler’s Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Symphonies. This four-disc box is the second set in a series that will encompass Mahler’s Nine Symphonies, featuring live orchestral recordings from London’s Royal Festival Hall of Maazel and the Philharmonia’s much-lauded Mahler Cycle.

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Mahler: Symphonies Nos. 4-6
Signum Classics May 2014
CD
$41.99

Grechaninov: Symphony No 4, Etc / Polyansky, Russian Sso
Chandos Sep 1997
CD
$21.99

Brahms, J.: Symphonies Nos. 2 and 4
Signum Classics Jan 2008
CD
$19.99

American Classics - Schuman: Symphonies No 4 & 9 / Schwarz

Naxos

$19.99 May 17, 2005

"These two symphonies - the fourth premiered in 1942 in Cleveland, the ninth in 1969 in Philadelphia - are full of arresting moments, both emotionally and in terms of orchestral effects. . . These pieces are layered with dark mysteries that make you want to hear them again and again. Also, the recording quality drawn from Seattle's Benaroya Hall is outstanding." - David Patrick Stearns, Philadelphia Inquirer, Sunday, May 29th, 2005

"...Though separated by decades, the two war symphonies are exceptional -- exemplary showcases of "The American Sound" in symphonic music (i.e. athletic, modal, spacious, dramatic, starkly songful). They are soundscapes full of mass sonority, vigor and seriousness. The performances and recordings are brand new and superb." - John Simon, Buffalo News, Sunday, May 22nd, 2005

Click Here for the complete Naxos American Classic Series

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American Classics - Schuman: Symphonies No 4 & 9 / Schwarz
Naxos May 2005
CD
$19.99

Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 7 / Mcgegan, Philharmonia Baroque

Philharmonia Baroque Productions

$9.99 ~~$19.99~~ Save 50% Jul 15, 2015

BEETHOVEN Symphonies Nos. 4 1 and 7 2 • Nicholas McGegan, cond; Philharmonia Baroque O (period instruments) • PHILHARMONIA BAROQUE PRODUCTIONS 06 (75:10) Live: Berkeley 1 11/10-11/2012, 2 9/12-13/2009

Unlike a number of other conductors in the early music movement, Nicholas McGegan has waited a long time to commit any of the Beethoven symphonies to disc. The wait has been well worthwhile. These are now my favorite period performance versions of the Fourth and Seventh symphonies on CD. I previously had preferred the Fourth of John Eliot Gardiner. It is faster than McGegan’s in every movement, sometimes significantly so. I feel that McGegan’s tempos allow the music to breathe more and to build up more natural climaxes. Gardiner uses a larger string section, which produces a wider dynamic range than McGegan’s. But McGegan’s orchestra sounds better balanced to me, with the strings allowing for richer textures from the inner voices. Interestingly, both conductors employ the same principal flute, the excellent Janet See, whose album of Vivaldi concertos with McGegan and the PBO is well worth seeking out. In the opening movement of the Fourth, McGegan’s Adagio is like a journey through the Greek underworld, leading to an Allegro vivace that feels like the whole world springing to life. Its development section sounds very Viennese in its congeniality. The second movement resembles chamber music, similar to a Buddhist scroll painting in its play of light and shade. It is significant that McGegan’s violin section includes such period chamber music luminaries as Katherine Kyme, Elizabeth Blumenstock, and Jolianne von Einem. The third movement displays Olympian humor, while the last is very danceable, sort of Beethoven’s version of a hoedown. In both symphonies, McGegan is very generous with repeats.

One of the principal attractions of McGegan’s Seventh is timpanist Kent Reed. Over 20 years ago, I heard a splendid Seventh by the New Jersey Symphony conducted by my friend Jens Nygaard, in which the timpanist, Randall Hicks, really whaled away. The critic assigned to the concert complained that it sounded like a timpani concerto. By now, we are so accustomed to the thwack of period timpani that Reed’s performance doesn’t seem unusual. Before hearing McGegan, my favorite period Seventh was Roger Norrington’s Stuttgart account. He is more fastidious in the middle movements about Beethoven’s metronome markings, though McGegan’s tempos there feel less rushed. Norrington’s strings, modern instruments played without vibrato, make a thicker, less appealing sound than McGegan’s more gossamer section. What’s more, McGegan conducts the entire symphony with a Beechamesque twinkle in his eye that Norrington lacks. The introduction to McGegan’s first movement is fleet-footed, with beautiful wind playing. The main section features wonderful waves of sound that ebb and flow, while the coda offers splendidly braying horns. McGegan’s slow movement is measured, with a careful delineation of dynamics. Its sensation is that of a haunted, misty reverie. The third movement feels as if the different sections of the orchestra are engaged in a conversation. Its trio sounds like an ecstatic shepherd’s song. The concluding movement is a jolly, mercurial romp. McGegan’s Seventh, congenial as it is, is one you can live with very easily.

The sound engineering in both symphonies is excellent. If you are looking for these works on modern instruments, I would recommend George Szell in Cleveland for the Fourth and Karl Böhm with the Vienna Philharmonic for the Seventh, although his Berlin account is nearly as good. McGegan’s album is a marvelous blend of the wisdom of the old master conductors with the finesse of period instruments. His Beethoven is an extremely likable fellow of vast ingenuity, an artist with whose work you never are sated. There is not one unconsidered bar of music in the whole album.

FANFARE: Dave Saemann

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Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 7 / Mcgegan, Philharmonia Baroque
Philharmonia Baroque Productions Jul 2015
CD
~~$19.99~~ $9.99

Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 10 / Pletnev, Russian National Orchestra

PENTATONE

$32.99 Jul 06, 2018

The spirit of Gustav Mahler looms over the pages of Shostakovich’s turbulent, sprawling and enigmatic Symphony No. 4, a work so uncompromising that for many years he suppressed its performance, fearing public censure. Mixing bombast with banality, savagery with sarcasm, this baffling yet profound work is also one of his most startlingly original. It’s paired with his ever popular Symphony No. 10, a brooding and lyrical masterpiece which is said to contain a musical portrait of Joseph Stalin in the impetuous second movement and in whose third and fourth movements Shostakovich artfully weaves a musical motif based on his own name which emerges resplendent in the spirited finale. This triumphant release is the latest in a series of recordings for Pentatone by the Russian National Orchestra. Their Shostakovich cycle was widely acclaimed as “the most exciting cycle of the Shostakovich symphonies to be put down…and easily the best recorded.” (SACD.net). The Symphony No. 7, conducted by Paavo Järvi, won the Diapason d’Or de l’annee 2015 and was nominated for a 2016 Grammy Award for Best Suurpund Sound recording.

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Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 10 / Pletnev, Russian National Orchestra
PENTATONE Jul 2018
CD
$32.99

Mendelssohn: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4 / Klemperer, Vienna Symphony
Vox Jan 2002
CD
$19.99

The 18th Century Symphony - Kraus: Complete Symphonies Vol 4
Naxos Nov 2002
CD
$19.99

Maxwell Davies: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5

Naxos

$13.99 ~~$19.99~~ Save 30% Sep 25, 2012

The orchestra used by Peter Maxwell Davies for his Fourth Symphony is of Classical period proportions, but this relatively compact framework belies a richness of ideas and sonorities. With it's starting point in the tone poem Chat Moss, the single-movement Fifth Symphony utilizes a more varied orchestral palette than it's predecessor, with a large percussion section often in evidence. Both works are performed here by the orchestras for which they were written. The First Symphony can be heard on 8.572348, the Second Symphony on 8.572349, and the Third Symphony on 8.572350. Universally acknowledged as one of the foremost composers of our time, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies has made a significant contribution to musical history through his wide-ranging and prolific output. He lives in the Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland, where he writes most of his music.

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Maxwell Davies: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5
Naxos Sep 2012
CD
~~$19.99~~ $13.99