Symphony No. 4
Bohuslav Martinů:
SYMPHONY No. 4, H 305
The Bohuslav Martinů Complete Edition II/1/4
Edited by Sharon Andrea Choa
BA 10572, cloth band score (25,5 x 32,5 cm)
· First ever scholarly-critical edition
· Detailed preface and critical commentary by the editor (Eng/Cz)
· Well-endowed Facsimiles section and Appendices with the original version of some parts
Symphony No. 4 (1945) is the most joyous of the author's six compositions of this genre.
When working on the third movement, Bohuslav Martinů (1890–1959) was caught up by news of Germany's capitulation. This first critical edition offers the composer's last authorised version in the main musical text, the Appendices also include parts of the work as they appeared before their revision for the first printed edition, in which the composer made slight alterations to the instrumentation and removed three bars from the third movement. They thus depict the performance history of the work as it was rendered until the release of the printed edition of the score in 1948, at the same time giving current performers access to the original version. The well-endowed Facsimiles section includes, among others, all extant parts of the draft of the work.