Daniel Raiskin, the conductor, grew up in St. Petersburg and studied viola before being inspired to conduct by Lev Savich, a distinguished teacher.
Compositional Technique
The Fourth Symphony is a large-scale work lasting about an hour, requiring triple woodwinds and six horns, the largest wind section Glass used in any of his symphonies.
Composer Biography
Louis Glass, the composer, completed his first symphony at age 30 in 1894, and his Fourth Symphony was finished in 1908.
Critical Reception
Composer and editor Charles Kjerulf called Glass's Fourth Symphony 'the most substantial, most important large-scale instrumental work that Danish music has produced since the great days of Gade and Hartmann.'
Notable Performances
Louis Glass's Fourth Symphony was performed multiple times in Copenhagen and internationally between 1912 and 1933, including in St. Petersburg, Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Wiesbaden, and Warsaw.
Composition History
Louis Glass's Fourth Symphony was premiered on March 20, 1911, in Copenhagen by the Danish Concert Society, conducted by Georg Høeberg.
Critical Reception
Music writer Gustav Hetsch praised Glass's Fourth Symphony for its brilliant, clear instrumentation and 'instantaneously appealing beauty,' noting a shift in the composer's aim from impressing to delighting listeners.
