Ralph Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 4

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1972-1958): Symphony No. 4 in F minor [1931 -34]

I. Allegro 02:50

II. Andante moderato 11:29

III. Scherzo: Allegro molto 21:20

IV. Finale con epilogo fugato: Allegro molto 26:19

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

Andrew Manze, conductor

"I don't know whether I like it, but it's what I meant." Vaughan Williams referred in these famous words to his Symphony No. 4, which was sketched out over the years 1931 and 1932, completed in 1934, and first performed in London on April 10, 1935, by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sir Adrian Boult. The dissonance and power of the Symphony No. 4 were not new elements in Vaughan Williams' music; some of the same can be heard, for instance, in the ballet Job (1930). But the unrelenting vision of the Fourth was new and surprising.

What does the Fourth mean? Interestingly and not very helpfully, it was the first of Vaughan Williams' symphonies not to have a descriptive title attached to it. Many thought that the symphony was a commentary on world events, in particular the rise of totalitarianism and the eventual outbreak of World War II. Sir Adrian Boult thought so: "He foresaw the whole thing." As usual, Vaughan Williams rejected such specificity, although he did admit in a letter to a friend that the "beauty" of the symphony reflected "unbeautiful times—because we know that beauty can come from unbeautiful things (e.g. King Lear, Rembrandt's School of Anatomy, Wagner's Niebelungs, etc.)" As Vaughan Williams was completing the Fourth, he was also starting on the oratorio Dona Nobis Pacem, which does make direct reference to war. But the composer's widow Ursula saw the symphony as autobiographical, a reflection of her husband's character: "The towering furies of which he was capable, his fire, pride, and strength are all revealed and so are his imagination and lyricism."

The symphony begins with an imperious theme that frequently recurs later in the work. The tone is one of anger and aggression. Even the more restrained second theme has a pulsating energy lurking beneath it, and the movement's occasional moments of humor are acid tinged. After its driving energy and frequent brass outbursts, the quiet coda of the movement comes as a surprise. But the feeling is more of enervation than calm. Next is the slow movement, marked Andante moderato, which opens with a wandering melody related to material from the first movement over a strong pizzicato accompaniment. Much is made of the contrast between the remorseless tread of the accompaniment versus the rather forlorn quality of the melodic material. The movement exudes a sense of weariness. A lonely flute solo acts as a coda. The Scherzo, marked Allegro molto, is dance-like, but rhythmically unpredictable and mercurial. After a fugal interlude, the dance opening returns. A strange and mysterious passage in which a quiet recollection of the first movement's main theme sounds over a pounding drum rhythm, leads without break into the vigorous Finale, which one might see as the resolution of the conflict of the first three movements. The final movement strides purposely forward, with frequent brass eruptions. The mood is one of excitement, but of agitation, as well. A peaceful theme emerges in the strings and is developed for a time. Then the initial music breaks out again, leading into a fugal development that whips up a lot of energy and leads to a brass-drenched peroration derived from the symphony's opening pages.

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