Symphony No. 4 (Szymanowski)

1932 symphony by Karol Szymanowski

The Symphony No. 4 (Symphonie concertante) Op. 60 is a work for solo piano and orchestra written by the Polish composer Karol Szymanowski between March and June 1932. It is dedicated to the pianist Arthur Rubinstein. Szymanowski himself played the piano part at the premiere performance on 9 October 1932, with Grzegorz Fitelberg conducting the Poznań City Orchestra.

The symphony is cast in three movements:

Moderato. Tempo comodo
Andante molto sostenuto
Allegro non troppo, agitato ed ansioso

The symphony is scored for solo piano, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, percussion (4 players), harp and strings.

A typical performance lasts approximately 25 minutes.

Roman Berger's 1983 sonata for violin and piano is subtitled "with the Motif by K. Szymanowski". It includes a lengthy quotation of the symphony's opening piano theme, played by the violin midway through the first movement, in a pppp section marked subito meno messo e rubato misterioso.

Selected recordings

Piotr Paleczny, piano; BBC Symphony Orchestra; Mark Elder, conductor (BBC Radio Classics, 1995)
Howard Shelley, piano); BBC Philharmonic Orchestra; Vassily Sinaisky, conductor (Chandos Records, 1996)
Louis Lortie, piano; BBC Symphony Orchestra; Edward Gardner, conductor (Chandos Records, 2013)
Leif Ove Andsnes, piano; City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; Simon Rattle, conductor (EMI Classics, 1999 / Warner Classics, 2015)
Denis Matsuev, piano; London Symphony Orchestra; Valery Gergiev, conductor (LSO Live, 2013 / Alto, 2018)
Tadeusz Zmudzinski, piano; Polish State Philharmonic Orchestra (Katowice); Karol Stryja, conductor (Marco Polo, 2000 / Naxos Records)
Jan Krzysztof Broja, piano; Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra; Antoni Wit, conductor (Naxos Records, 2009)

References

"Symphonie concertante for piano and orchestra op. 60". karolszymanowski.pl. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
Iwanicka-Nijakowska, Anna. "Symphony No. 4 (Symphonie Concertante) Op. 60 – Karol Szymanowski". culture.pl. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
Berger, Roman (1994). Sonáta s motivem K. Szymanowského : (1982-83) ; violino e piano. Bratislava: Supraphon. pp. 19–20. OCLC 248775463.

v t e Karol Szymanowski
List of compositions
Opera and ballet	Hagith (1922) Harnasie (1923) King Roger (1926)
Symphony	Symphony No. 1 (1906) Symphony No. 2 (1909) Symphony No. 3 (1914) (The Song of the Night) Symphony No. 4 (1932)
Concertante	Violin Concerto No. 1 (1916) Violin Concerto No. 2 (1933)
Chamber	Nocturne and Tarantella (1915) Myths (1915) String Quartet No. 1 (1917) String Quartet No. 2 (1927)
Vocal	The Love Songs of Hafiz (1911) Stabat Mater (1925) Litany to the Virgin Mary (1933)
Piano	Piano Sonata No. 2 (1911) Métopes, Op. 29 (1915) Masques, Op. 34 (1916)
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