Symphony No. 4 in E-Flat Major, WAB 104 ‘Romantic’

​Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4 is his first unequivocal popular success and one of the best gateways into his symphonic world. It was premiered on 20 February 1881, with the Vienna Philharmonic under Hans Richter. Bruckner composed an original version in 1874, then substantially revised the work in 1878–80, recomposing the Scherzo and Finale; this 1878/80 text is the usual concert version.
He and his pupils introduced further revisions and reorchestrations in the late 1880s, which later fed into the broader editorial debate over authentic Bruckner texts. 
 
The key points of the differences in the various versions are:
The 1874 version: the first complete version, with a different Scherzo and Finale.
The 1878 version: a new “Hunt” Scherzo with rustic Trio.
The 1880 version: a new Finale, which formed the basis of the commonly played score.
The 1886/88 version: further cuts and reorchestration, often seen as less faithful to Bruckner’s original conception.
 
The characteristic traits in this symphony include a broad, arching theme groups, often treated almost like choral blocks (strings vs. winds vs. brass), with a strong role for horns and brass, especially in the opening and Scherzo, and a harmonic idiom that fuses Beethoven–Schubert lineage with Wagnerian chromaticism. Bruckner was persuaded to relate a loose programme evoking medieval and nature imagery, with knights, hunts, and a dawn over a forested landscape.
In an 1880s letter, he outlined a simple narrative. The first movement as daybreak after sleep, the second movement as song or serenade, the third movement as a hunting scene with rustic entertainment, and the finale as a festive, with a dramatic conclusion.
 
The 1878/80 version movement overview:
Bewegt, nicht zu schnell (E‑flat major):
The symphony begins with a tremolo mist in the strings and a distant horn call in E‑flat, a quintessential Romantic dawn image. The movement proceeds in sonata form: vigorous brass fanfares and folk‑like string melodies are set in contrast, building through long‑range crescendos to radiant climaxes and a spacious coda.
 
Andante quasi Allegretto (C minor):
Marked by a dark, funeral‑march character, the second movement opens with a lyrical cello line in C minor and chorale‑like string writing.
Two main themes, one elegiac, one more serenade‑like in the violas with pizzicato accompaniment, alternate and develop, reaching an intense central climax before subsiding into a quiet close.
 
Scherzo: Bewegt – Trio: Nicht zu schnell (E‑flat major):
The famous Hunt Scherzo features energetic horn calls and driving rhythms, often described as the apotheosis of hunting music.
Its Trio offers a rustic dance during the hunters’ meal, with simpler, songful lines and lighter orchestration, before the robust Scherzo returns.
 
Finale: Bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell (E‑flat major):
The Finale opens in mystery, clarinets and horn presenting a three‑note figure that functions as a shadowed counterpart to the first movement’s dawn call.
A stern main theme in the lower registers, more lyrical secondary ideas, and the transformation of that opening three‑note motive all drive toward a grand coda where the dawn motif returns in blazing E‑flat, unifying the symphony’s arc.
 
References
Gilliam, B. (2026). Symphony No. 4, Romantic. Boston Symphony Orchestra.
 
(2026, January 17). Symphony No. 4 By Bruckner. In Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._4_(Bruckner)
 
(2019, January 17). A Knight’s Tale: Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4, Romantic. Houston Symphony. https://houstonsymphony.org/bruckner-symphony-4/