Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 in E flat major "Romantic"

The quintessence of romanticism: Unquestionably one of Bruckner's most popular symphonies, the Fourth gave the composer one of his greatest triumphs at its premiere in 1881, when it was proclaimed an "extraordinary musical creation" of great originality. The only Bruckner symphony to bear a nickname, the "Romantic" is not programme music in the strict sense, but it grants ample leeway for a multitude of associations, from romantic village idylls and merry hunting scenes with horns and trumpets to misty forests and sublime mountain vistas. But the underlying feeling of romanticism is never far away: hidden beneath the surface of physical nature is the eternal and immeasurable.