Bruckner composed the Symphony No. 4 in E-flat major between 1874 and 1880, revising it several times as was his habit with nearly all of his symphonies. It is the only one of his nine numbered symphonies to carry a subtitle, “Romantic,” a title Bruckner himself supplied along with brief programmatic hints involving medieval imagery, though he later withdrew them. The work opens with one of the most recognizable gestures in the symphonic repertoire: a solo horn call emerging over tremolo strings, a sound that returns in varied form across the four movements. Its orchestration is broad and luminous, balancing Bruckner’s characteristic brass chorales and slow-building climaxes with passages of unusual lightness and transparency for his output.
Here are The Classic Review editorial team’s recommendations for the best recordings of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4.
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Karl Böhm
Berliner Philharmoniker, Günter Wand
Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer
Staatskapelle Dresden, Eugen Jochum
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Manfred Honeck
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