Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36, was written between 1877 and 1878. Its first performance was at a Russian Musical Society concert in Moscow on February 22 (or the 10th using the calendar of the time), 1878, with Nikolai Rubinstein as conductor. In Middle Europe it sometimes receives the nickname "Fatum," or "Fate."

Composition

During the composition of the symphony, Tchaikovsky wrote to his patroness, Nadezhda von Meck, that he wanted "very much" to dedicate it to her, and that he would write on it "Dedicated to My Best Friend". He had begun composing the symphony not long after von Meck had entered his life. He would complete it in the aftermath of his catastrophic marriage and claimed she would find in it "an echo of your most intimate thoughts and emotions." The dedication was significant in more than one way. One important facet of the paternalistic nature of Russian society was that, in artistic patronage, patron and artist were considered equals. Dedications of works to patrons were not gestures of humble gratitude but expressions of artistic partnership. By dedicating the Fourth Symphony to her, he was affirming her as an equal partner in its creation.

Among the pieces of music with the title Symphony No. 4 are:

Russian composer Alfred Schnittke wrote his Symphony No. 4 in 1983. It is a choral symphony, written for tenor, countertenor, chorus, and orchestra. It was first performed on April 12, 1984, in Moscow.

Structure

The symphony is written in a single movement of 22 variations and is approximately 45 minutes in length. Ronald Weitzman writes, "The form of Schnittke's Fourth Symphony [is] at once cross-shaped and spherical.... The composer draws musically on the three main strands of Christianity—Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant—while underlying this is a three–note semitone interval motif representing synagogue chant, thus symbolizing the Jewish source of Christianity." The result, Ivan Moody writes, is that Schnittke "attempts to reconcile elements of znamennïy and Gregorian chant, the Lutheran chorale and Synagogue cantillation ... within a dense, polyphonic orchestral texture" A tenor and a countertenor also sing wordlessly at two points in the symphony. Words are saved for a finale in which all four types of church music are used contrapuntally as a four-part choir sings the Ave Maria. The choir can choose whether to sing the Ave Maria in Russian or Latin. The programmatic intent of using these different types of music, Schnittke biographer Alexander Ivashkin writes, is an insistence by the composer "on the idea ... of the unity of humanity, a synthesis and harmony among various manifestations of belief."

Symphony No. 4, subtitled Sinfonía romántica (Romantic Symphony) is an orchestral composition by Carlos Chávez, composed in 1953.

History

The score was commissioned by and is dedicated to the Louisville Orchestra, which premiered the work on 11 February 1953, conducted by the composer. After the first few performances, Chávez decided that the final movement, though sound in itself, was not satisfactory as a conclusion to this symphony. Consequently, he composed a new finale in October 1953, and published the original movement as a separate work, titled Baile (cuadro sinfónico) (Dance, Symphonic Picture) (Orbón 1987c, 80).

Instrumentation

The Symphony is scored for an orchestra of three flutes (third doubling piccolo), two oboes, cor anglais, two clarinets, three bassoons (third doubling contrabassoon), four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (three players), and strings.

Analysis

The Symphony is divided into three movements: