Symphony No. 4 (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.^[1] Szymanowski himself played the piano part at the premiere performance on 9 October 1932, with Grzegorz Fitelberg conducting the Poznań City Orchestra.^[2]

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.

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.^[3]

• 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)