Symphony No. 4 (Honegger)

The Symphony No. 4 by Swiss composer Arthur Honegger is a work for orchestra, written in 1946 on a commission from Paul Sacher. Subtitled "Deliciæ Basilienses", it was first performed on 21 January 1947, by the chamber orchestra "Basler Kammerorchester" under Sacher. On the same program were the premieres of two other works commissioned by Sacher: Igor Stravinsky's Concerto in D and Bohuslav Martinů's "Toccata e due Canzoni".
Honegger's symphony, which contains musical quotations from two Basel folk songs, expresses the composer's happiness during a pleasant stay in the Swiss countryside after the end of World War II. Despite the pastoral and often joyous mood throughout much of the symphony, the closing minutes include some tragic or more serious elements.
Honegger's Fourth Symphony is a three-movement work with a total running time of about 27 minutes. The movements are titled:
This symphony is published by Éditions Salabert.
Recordings.
Recordings of this symphony include full sets of Honegger's symphonies performed by:
Additional recordings of this symphony include: