Symphony No. 4

Composer: MAHLER, Gustav
  • Mahler wrote his Fourth Symphony between 1900 and 1901, comprising four movements for orchestra and soprano soloist:
    1. Bedächtig, nicht eilen (deliberate, not rushed)
    2. In gemächlicher Bewegung, ohne Hast (in leisurely movement, without haste)
    3. Ruhevoll, poco adagio (calm, somewhat slowly)
    4. “Wir geniessen die Himmlischen Freuden.” Sehr behaglich (“We revel in heavenly pleasures.” At ease)
  • The fourth movement is an orchestrated song that Mahler originally wrote in 1892, setting text from Des Knaben Wunderhorn (a collection of anonymous German folk poems) evoking a child’s vision of heaven.
  • Symphony No. 4 premiered in Munich in 1901, performed by the Kaim Orchestra, conducted by the composer, featuring soprano Margarete Michalek. Mahler scored the work for an unusually modest-sized orchestra compared to his other symphonies.1
  • The tone of Symphony No. 4 is generally light and blissful, though there are still occasional moments of potential darkness looming, such as the perplexing use of sleigh bells and the ominous violin in the second movement.2

Sources

  1. “Symphony No.4, GMW 37 (Mahler, Gustav),” IMSLP, accessed March 26, 2024, https://imslp.org/wiki/Symphony_No.4_(Mahler,_Gustav).
  2. Michael Rosin, “4 Peculiar Things About Mahler 4,” New Jersey Symphony (2019), accessed March 26, 2025, https://www.njsymphony.org/news/detail/4-peculiar-things-about-mahler-4.

Cut IDs

40900 24234 23627 26260