The Symphony No. 4, Op. 281, is a work for orchestra by French composer Darius Milhaud. The piece was written in 1947 in response to a request by the French minister of education for a composition celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Revolution of 1848. Milhaud wrote this symphony on board a steamship to France from the U.S., where he had lived since 1940.[1] This symphony is not to be confused with Milhaud's Chamber Symphony No. 4, op. 74 (1921).
Milhaud's Fourth Symphony has four movements and a total running time of a bit over 28 minutes. The outer movements have a military flavor, dominated by wind instruments and percussion. The descriptive titles of the movements are as follows:
- L'insurrection. Animé (approx. 5')
- Aux Morts de la République. Lent (approx. 13')
- Le Joies de la Liberté retrouvée. Modérément animé (approx. 4')
- Commémoration 1948. Animé (approx. 7'15")
This symphony is published by Editions Salabert.
Recordings
- a 1947 stereo recording featuring the Orchestre Radio-Symphonique, conducted by the composer himself, and re-released in 2003 on the Apex label
- a 1997 all-digital recording by Alun Francis and the Radio-Sinfonieorchester Basel, part of a boxed set of Milhaud's Symphonies No. 1–12 on CPO
References
- ^ Schulz, Reinhard. Darius Milhaud Symphonies 1 & 4 (CD liner notes). Susan Marie Praeder (trans.). CPO, 1998. p. 9.