Coming in between the towering achievements of the Third and Fifth symphonies, Beethoven's Fourth Symphony is not as well known as it might have otherwise been. Musicologist Robert Greenberg has commented: "If any of Beethoven's contemporaries had written this symphony, it would be considered that composer's masterwork, and that composer would be remembered forever for this symphony, and this symphony would be played – often – as an example of that composer's great work. As it is, for Beethoven, it is a work in search of an audience. It's the least known and least appreciated of the nine."
Composed in 1806, it received its first public performance in Vienna in 1808.
The work was performed at BBC Promenade concert in 2014, and the detailed and informative programme note by Lindsay Kemp is available here.
The 1960 Columbia recording by Otto Klemperer with the Philharmonia is given here on a 1970 HMV reissue.
Cartridge: Miyajima Shilabe MC
Phono amp: Graham Slee Accession MC
Turntable: CTC Classic 301 with SME M2-12R
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