Symphony No. 4 in D minor, Op. 120
     I. Ziemlich langsam – Lebhaft
     II. Romanze: Ziemlich langsam
     III. Scherzo: Lebhaft
     IV. Langsam – Lebhaft

Composed 1841/1851; Duration: 28 minutes

First BPO Performance: January 23, 1936 (Arnold Cornelissen, conductor)

Last BPO Performance: March 24, 2012 (Maximiano Valdés, conductor)

Robert Schumann was smitten with piano prodigy and composer Clara Wieck, and following a years-long legal battle with her disapproving father, the two married in 1840. Robert’s aspirations for a career as a pianist were surrendered to a focus on composition, and by 1841, he was composing his second symphony. 

After a decade of maturation, Robert completed and revised the symphony in 1851, replacing Italian movement titles with German, revising the orchestration with a heavier approach, and simplifying transitions and formal ideas. The delay in the work’s completion led to it being numbered as the fourth, but it was a brooding and experimental counterpart to the cheerfully conventional first.

The 1850s saw a quick and dramatic decline for Robert, as he spent his final two years in a sanatorium, where he died in 1856. Clara ceased her efforts as a composer, instead focusing her career on touring as a concert pianist. In 1882, she mounted the ambitious project of publishing Robert’s complete works, claiming the latter version of the symphony to be superior, while Brahms campaigned for the 1841 version. In either case, the 1851 version seems to have won out, and is most often performed today. 

The four movements flow together with recurring themes woven throughout. A wandering D minor melody sets a sober tone for the fantasia-like opening movement, with a skittish second melody intensifying the unsettled energy. The movement transforms to a triumphant D major for the percussive conclusion. The alluring Romanze opens on the oboe and cello, combining for a darkly ambling melody that gives way to flowing lines that recall the work’s opening. Forgetting the air of nervous uncertainty, a violin soloist provides respite in a warm, fluttering melody. 

The ferocious Scherzo returns to the stern D minor with recycled themes. The gently pastoral trio returns for the closing that transitions seamlessly into the finale. The anxiety-laden Langsam (meaning slow, heavy) loses out to the joyful D major Lebhaft (lively, spirited), and concludes in a frenzied Presto.