Symphony No. 4 (Szymanowski)

The Symphony No. 4 (Symphonie Concertante) Op. 60 was written by Polish Composer Karol Szymanowski between March and June of 1932 and dedicated to pianist Arthur Rubinstein. Szymanowski himself played the piano part at the premiere performance by the Poznań City Orchestra on 9 October 1932; the conductor was Grzegorz Fitelberg.

The symphony is cast in three movements:

1. Moderato. Tempo comodo
2. Andante molto sostenuto
3. 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.

Selected recordings

• BBC Radio Classics - BBC Symphony Orchestra, Piotr Paleczny (piano), Mark Elder (conductor)
• Chandos - BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Howard Shelley (piano), Vassily Sinaisky (conductor)
• Chandos - BBC Symphony Orchestra, Louis Lortie (piano), Edward Gardner (conductor)
• EMI - City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Leif Ove Andsnes (piano), Simon Rattle (conductor) - also released on the Warner Classics label
• LSO Live - London Symphony Orchestra, Denis Matsuev (piano), Valery Gergiev (conductor) - also released on the Alto label
• Naxos - Polish State Philharmonic Orchestra (Katowice), Tadeusz Zmudzinski (piano), Karol Stryja (conductor) - also released on the Marco Polo label
• Naxos - Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Jan Krzysztof Broja (piano), Antoni Wit (conductor)