Symphony No. 4 in c minor, “Easter Eve,” Op. 54

Composer: FOERSTER, Josef Bohuslav

Quick Facts

  • Written between 1904-05
  • Premiered in Prague in 1905 Prague played by the Czech Philharmonic and conducted by Oscar Nedbal
    • While the symphony continues to be a beloved staple of concert repertoire in the Czech Republic, it hasn’t gained the same level of recognition abroad.1

About the Piece

  • Regarding the nickname for the piece, “Easter Eve,” – that came later from publishers due to the symphony’s source of inspiration. Foerster initially ascribed the title “The Long Night.” In his memoir, he wrote,

“It was in Hamburg, on Good Friday, 1904, that I began to write my fourth symphony, deeply moved by the spirit of Easter Week…

“Easter Week in the first movement, as experienced by as adult, and in the second, the Easter festivities, as seen through the eyes of a child. On the one hand, the painful journey in the steps of the Redeemer carrying his Cross, on the other, early greens buds, anemones and cowslips, spring breezes and pastoral melodies. The following slow movement — a paean in praise of solitude and spirituality — a prayer with two themes that merge into one just before the end. The final movement — a triple fugue, the second subject borrowed from a Gregorian plainsong — develops into a hymn of joyful praise for the risen Savior at the end of the movement, interspersed three times with our folk song, ‘On the third day our Creator rose again’.”2

  • The symphony represents Foerster at peak musical maturity and hints at the influence of orchestral works by Mahler (his friend and colleague in Vienna), Smetana, and Grieg, among others.3

Sources

  1. Christoph Schlüren, “Josef Bohuslav Foerster: 4. Symphonie in c minor,” Universal Edition, accessed April 4, 2023, https://www.universaledition.com/josef-bohuslav-foerster-232/works/4-symphonie-656.
  2. Ibid.
  3. Oldřich Pukl, John Tyrrell, and Vlasta Reittererová, “Foerster [Förster], Josef Bohuslav,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed April 4, 2023, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000009911.

Cut IDs

45328