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Background:

• Composed between September 1935 and May 1936. In 1936, Pravda, under direct orders from Stalin, published an editorial "Muddle Instead of Music" that denounced the composer and targeted his opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. Despite this attack and the political climate of the time, Shostakovich completed the symphony and planned its premiere for December 1936 in Leningrad. After rehearsals began, the orchestra's management cancelled the performance, offering a statement that Shostakovich had withdrawn the work.
• The manuscript score for the Fourth Symphony was lost during World War II. Using the orchestral parts that survived from the 1936 rehearsals, Shostakovich had a two-piano version published in an edition of 300 copies in Moscow in 1946. Shostakovich began considering a performance only after Stalin's death in 1953 changed the cultural climate in the Soviet Union. He undertook no revisions.
• The Symphony was eventually premiered on 30 December 1961 by the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra led by Kirill Kondrashin. Shostakovich uses a large orchestra requiring over one hundred musicians.

Recordings:

• Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5.
  Frankfurt Radio Symphony.
  Alain Altinoglu.
  Alpha.

• Symphonies.
  Symphony No. 4.
  WDR Sinfonieorchester.
  Rudolf Barshai.
  Brilliant Classics.
  Radio 3 Building a Library (2008): Budget Choice.

• Symphony No. 4.
  Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
  Bernard Haitink.
  CSO Resound.
  Grammy Awards (2008): Best Orchestral Performance.

• The Symphonies.
  Symphony No. 4.
  London Philharmonic Orchestra.
  Bernard Haitink.
  Decca.

• Symphony No. 4 Arranged for Two Pianos.
  Rustem Hayroudinoff, Colin Stone.
  Chandos.

• Symphonies 4, 5 & 6.
  Oslo Philharmonic.
  Klaus Makela.
  Decca.
  Gramophone Magazine (2024): Editor’s Choice.
  Presto Recording of the Week (2024).
  Presto Recordings of the Year (2024): Finalist.
  International Classical Music Awards (2025): Nominated Symphonic Music.

• Symphonies Nos. 4 & 11.
  Boston Symphony Orchestra.
  Andris Nelsons.
  Deutsche Grammophon.
  BBC Music Magazine (2018): Orchestral Choice.
  Grammy Awards (2018): Winner Orchestral Performance.
  Gramophone Magazine (2018): Editor’s Choice.
  Limelight Magazine recordings of the Year (2018).
  Presto Recording of the Week (2018).
  Presto Recordings of the Year (2018): Finalist.

• Symphonies Nos. 1 – 15.
  Symphony No. 4.
  London Symphony Orchestra.
  Gianandrea Noseda.
  LSO Live.
  Presto Recordings of the Year (2019): Finalist.
  International Classical Music Awards (2022): Nominated Symphonic Music.

• Symphony No. 4.
  Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
  Vasily Petrenko.
  Naxos.
  Gramophone Magazine (2013): Disc of the Month.
  Gramophone Awards (2014): Finalist Orchestral.

• Symphony No. 4 & 11.
  BBC Symphony Orchestra.
  Gennady Rozhdestvensky.
  ICA Classics.
  Gramophone Magazine (2022): Reissue/Archive Issue of the Month.

• The Symphonies.
  Symphony No. 4.
  BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
  Mark Wigglesworth.
  BIS.

About Coram Deo

Coram Deo — before the face of God. This blog reflects on Scripture, world events, science, music, psychology, and the human mind — always through the lens of Christian faith. All of life is lived before the face of God.