Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 4 in E 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 Vienna in 1881, conducted by Hans Richter in Vienna to great acclaim.
The symphony's nickname of Romantic was used by the composer himself. This was at the height of the Romantic movement in the arts as depicted, amongst others, in the operas Lohengrin and Siegfried of Richard Wagner.Constantin Floros, as reported in
According to Albert Speer, the symphony was performed before the fall of Berlin, in a concert on 12 April 1945. Speer chose the symphony as a signal that the Nazis were about to lose the war.Speer, Albert. Inside the Third Reich
Description The symphony has four movements. Bruckner revised the symphony multiple times and it exists in three major versions. The initial version of 1874 differs in several respects from the other two, most importantly the entirely separate scherzo movement:
Here are the tempo markings in the 1880 version:
The 1888 version edited by in the Gesamtausgabe (Band IV Teil 3) has different tempo and metronome markings:
First movement The movement opens, like many other Bruckner symphonies, with tremolo strings. A horn call opens the first theme group:
This leads into the second theme of the first group, an insistent statement of the Bruckner rhythm:
Like all Bruckner symphonies, the exposition contains three theme groups. The second group, called the "Gesangsperiode" by Bruckner, is in D major:
The third theme group differs between versions; in the 1874 original it opens with a variation on the opening horn call:
In the 1878 version and later it opens with a variation of the Bruckner rhythm theme from the first group:
The expansive development features a brass chorale based on the opening horn call:
There exists much evidence that Bruckner had a program in mind for the Fourth Symphony. In a letter to conductor Hermann Levi of 8 December 1884, Bruckner wrote: "In the first movement after a full night's sleep the day is announced by the horn, 2nd movement song, 3rd movement hunting trio, musical entertainment of the hunters in the wood." There is a similar passage in a letter from the composer to Paul Heyse of 22 December 1890: "In the first movement of the 'Romantic' Fourth Symphony the intention is to depict the horn that proclaims the day from the town hall! Then life goes on; in the Gesangsperiode [the second subject] the theme is the song of the great tit Zizipe. 2nd movement: song, prayer, serenade. 3rd: hunt and in the Trio how a barrel-organ plays during the midday meal in the forest.
In addition to these clues that come directly from Bruckner, the musicologist Theodor Helm communicated a more detailed account reported via the composer's associate Bernhard Deubler: "Mediaeval city—Daybreak—Morning calls sound from the city towers—the gates open—On proud horses the knights burst out into the open, the magic of nature envelops them—forest murmurs—bird song—and so the Romantic picture develops further..."
Second movement This movement, in C minor, begins with a melody on the cellos:
The accompaniment is significantly different in the original 1874 version. This movement, like most Bruckner slow movements, is in five-part ternary form (A–B–A–B–A–Coda). The second part (B) is slower than the first:
Third movement Bruckner completely recomposed the Scherzo movement after his first version.
First version (1874) This so-called "Alphorn Scherzo" is based mostly on a horn call that opens the movement:
This is followed by tremolo string figures and a slightly different version of the horn call. Eventually a climax is reached with the horn call sounded loudly and backed by the full orchestra, leading to the Trio:
Second version (1878) The autograph of the so-called "Hunting Scherzo" of the 1878 version of the symphony contains markings such as Jagdthema (hunting theme) and Tanzweise während der Mahlzeit auf der Jagd (dance tune during the lunch break while hunting). This is the more well known of the Scherzi. It opens with triadic hunting horn calls, that recalls the Military march, WAB 116:
The more melodic Trio follows:
Fourth movement This movement went through three major versions, but the third version of the Finale corresponds with the second major version of the symphony as a whole. There were further revisions for the 1888 version, but these amount to cuts and reorchestration; the underlying thematic material does not change after 1880. Much of the thematic material is shared between different versions, albeit with rhythmic simplification after 1874. The stark main theme, in E minor, is the same in all three versions:
First version (1874) This version begins with cascading string figures and a reappearance of the horn call that opened the symphony, albeit first appearing on the oboe. This builds to a climax and the main theme is stated by the full orchestra. Pizzicato strings introduce the second theme group, built on two themes. This group is very polyrhythmic, with heavy usage of quintuplets. The first theme:
This group has several bars of five notes against eight, beginning in the second theme:
The third theme group is started by a descending B minor scale, which recalls Wotan's Spear leitmotif, given by the whole orchestra:
Towards the end, the horn call that opened the symphony returns, heralding the bright E major finish to the symphony.
Second version 'Volksfest' (1878) The second version of the movement, whose nickname, meaning 'people's festival', comes from Bruckner's autograph, is generally not played as part of the symphony as a whole. It is a simplified and shortened version of the finale. The movement's opening and first theme group are generally the same as the first version. The second group shows substantial differences in rhythm, with the difficult quintuplets replaced by simpler rhythmic patterns (Bruckner rhythm "2 + 3" or "3 + 2"). The actual notes, leaving aside transpositions and differences in accompaniment and articulation, are unchanged. The first theme:
The second theme:
The third theme group is again headed off by a descending scale, with the rhythm simplified:
Significant changes are made to the coda, bringing it closer to the third version.
Third version (1880)
This version has the most substantial changes. The cascading string figures are changed, and the overall mood is much more somber than in previous versions. After the first theme group comes the modified second group. Here Bruckner has inserted a new theme that precedes the two themes seen in the previous versions:
Additionally, the third theme group has been recomposed:
In the coda, a quiet chorale is introduced at bar 489, and, before the peroration (at bar 517), an ascending scale – a quote of that before the third climax in part 5 of the Adagio of the Fifth Symphony.
In the 1888 version, the recapitulation begins with the second theme group, skipping over the first entirely. There does not seem to be any clear hint of a program for this third version of the finale.
Versions Bruckner scholars recognise currently three versions of the Fourth Symphony:
Version I: 1874 Version II: 1878-1880 Version III: 1888
At least seven authentic versions and revisions of the Fourth Symphony have been identified. The Fourth Symphony underwent the most prolonged, the most intricate, compositional process of any of the symphonies. Bruckner's work on it extended from 1874 until at least 1890. He recomposed much of the symphony during this process, entirely replacing the third movement and fundamentally reinventing the Finale. He prepared different versions for performance at least three times, and each time this led him to make changes, often substantial ones. And he finally saw the symphony through publication. Much of this story has either been unknown or significantly misunderstood, as have many of the larger issues raised by Bruckner's versions more generally. For these reasons, the Fourth Symphony, as the most extreme case of the "Bruckner problem," offers a uniquely advantageous platform from which to see key matters more critically and clearly than they have been previously.B. Korstvedt - The versions of Bruckner's Fourth Symphony
In an interview given to coincide with his performance of the work with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra at the 2024 BBC Proms, conductor Simon Rattle stated that he had found fourteen versions of the symphony. Rattle also made a cut before the finale, and composed his own four-bar transition to replace it.
Version I (1874) Bruckner's original version of the symphony was composed between 2 January and 22 November 1874. The edition by Leopold Nowak in 1975, based on manuscript Mus.Hs.6082, includes some revisions from 1875 that Bruckner made in the autograph score. This version was never performed or published during the composer's lifetime, though the Scherzo was played in Linz on 12 December 1909. The first complete performance was given in Linz more than a century after its composition on 20 September 1975 by the Munich Philharmonic conducted by Kurt Wöss. The first commercial recording was made in September 1982 by the Frankfurt Radio Symphony conducted by Eliahu Inbal (CD 2564 61371-2).
1876 variant In 1876 Bruckner made some additional, mainly metrical adjustments, that he introduced in a copy of the autograph score (manuscript Mus.Hs.6032), when he prepared the score for a planned performance – which ultimately fell through. The 1876 variant, that has been premiered in November 2020 by Jakub Hrůša with the Bamberger Symphoniker, has been issued by in 2021.
Version IIA (1878) When he had completed the original version of the symphony, Bruckner turned to the composition of his Fifth Symphony. When he had completed that piece he resumed work on the Fourth. Between 18 January and 30 September 1878 he thoroughly revised the first two movements and replaced the original finale with a new movement entitled Volksfest ("Popular Festival").
In December 1878 Bruckner replaced the original Scherzo with a completely new movement, which is sometimes called the "Hunt" Scherzo (Jagd-Scherzo). In a letter to the music critic Wilhelm Tappert (October 1878), Bruckner said that the new Scherzo "represents the hunt, whereas the Trio is a dance melody which is played to the hunters during their repast". The original title of the Trio reads: Tanzweise während der Mahlzeit auf der Jagd ("Dance melody during the hunters' meal").
The Volksfest finale was published as an appendix to Robert Haas's edition of 1936, and in a separate edition by Leopold Nowak in 1981. The complete 1878 version of the symphony has been first issued by William Carragan in 2014 for a foreseen performance by Gerd Schaller.
A critical edition of the 1878 version has been issued by Benjamin Korstvedt in 2022. In close contact with Korstvedt, MusicaNova Phoenix, Arizona, has performed a world premiere of the 1878 version of the Symphony on 1 May 2022.On the new version of Bruckner Symphony No. 4The World Premiere of the 1878 Bruckner 4th
Version IIB (1880) After the lapse of almost a year (during which he composed his String Quintet in F Major), Bruckner took up his Fourth Symphony once again. Between 19 November 1879 and 5 June 1880 he composed a new finale – the third, though it shares much of its thematic material with the first version described this movement as "simply a recasting, in 1880, of the 1878 finale into its present form". Presumbably he meant "a recasting … of the 1874 finale...", which is much closer to the 1880 finale than is the Volksfest finale of 1878. – and discarded the Volksfest finale.