Symphony No. 4 in E Minor

Written during 1884 and 1885, the Fourth Symphony was the last such work Brahms completed, conducting its first performance in Meiningen on 25 October 1885. The “Allegro non troppo” begins with a calmly undulating melody, its forceful continuation contrasting with the lighter and even whimsical second theme. The central development section touches upon more speculative emotions such that the reprise emerges out of virtual stasis, with the second theme dovetailed into a passionate and fatalistic coda. The “Andante moderato” commences with a theme in unison on woodwind and brass, elaborated more ruminatively by clarinets over pizzicato strings. A lively transition brings a second theme of burnished eloquence on divided strings, both themes being elaborated and intensified prior to the resigned coda. Unusually for a scherzo, the “Allegro giocoso” is in sonata form, its animated main theme contrasting with a genteel idea that hardly appears in the boisterous development, and then only briefly in a combative coda. Most striking is the “Allegro energico”, a passacaglia whose theme, adapted from the final chorus of Bach’s 150th cantata, underpins 30 variations that between them outline a sonata design of great diversity. A grimly defiant coda sets the seal on a work that undeniably marks the end of an epoch.