Symphony No. 4 (Sessions) Explained

The Symphony No. 4 of Roger Sessions was composed in 1958.^[1]

It has three movements:

1. Burlesque
2. Elegy^[2]
3. Pastorale^[3]

It was commissioned by the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra for the Minnesota Centennial, and premiered by the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Antal Doráti^[4] on January 2, 1960.^[5]

The second movement's basically slow tempo is interrupted twice by faster episodes. This movement was intended as an elegy for the composer's brother, John, who died in 1948.^[6] The finale, also slow, increases in intensity towards its close.^[7] Andrea Olmstead describes all of Sessions's symphonies as "serious" and "funereal".^[8]

Discography

• Roger Sessions: Symphony No. 4, Symphony No. 5, Rhapsody for Orchestra. Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Christian Badea, cond. Recorded April 6, 1986, at the Ohio Theatre, Columbus Ohio. LP recording, 1 disc: digital, stereo, 12 in. New World NW 345-1; CD recording, 1 disc: digital, stereo, 4¾ in. New World NW 345-2. New York: Recorded Anthology of American Music, 1987.

Further reading

• Imbrie, Andrew (1972). "The Symphonies of Roger Sessions". Tempo (new series), no. 103 (December): 24–32.
• Stern, Howard Gordon (2001). "Techniques of Formal Articulation and Association in the "Pastorale" of Roger Sessions' Symphony No. 4 and Cantata alla luna". PhD diss. Waltham: Brandeis University. .

Notes and References

1. The last page of the score as published is signed with the date of completion.
2. Opening of Elegy is quoted as example 6 in Imbrie. Imbrie. Andrew. Andrew Imbrie. The Symphonies of Roger Sessions. Tempo . New Series. 103. 1972. 24–32. 943951. 0040-2982. 1767255.
3. Marks Music Corporation 1963 score.
4. Helm. Everett. Reports from Abroad. Musical Times. 316–7. 101. 1407. May 1960. 0027-4666. 53165808. Musical Times Publications Ltd..
5. Web site: Roger Sessions: Compositions. 23 May 2009.
6. Prausnitz (2002), ; p. 281; Steinberg,, p. 253.
7. Badea's recording on New World; Marks Music score.
8. Olmstead, Andrea (2012). Roger Sessions: A Biography, p.356. Routledge. .