Viennese classicist Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony in B flat major, Op. 60 is often described as “too often not noticed”. In the chronology of the composer’s work, this symphony appears between the monumental Third and Fifth symphonies. It is surrounded by such excellent works as Appassionata, three Razumovsky Quartets, the opera Fidelio and other opuses. We are accustomed to saying that Beethoven has expanded the boundaries of the symphony genre, but the Fourth Symphony is today seen more as a classical example. There are no heroic gestures or speculations about Beethoven’s love and hate relationship with Napoleon as in the Third Symphony, nor is there a struggle with the fate we hear in the Fifth. Instead of an epic journey from darkness to light, Beethoven chose humour, simplicity and sincerity that prevail throughout the symphony. The premiere of the work took place in 1807 in Vienna, at the town house of Duke Franz Joseph von Lobkowitz.

Conducted by maestro Sergej Krylov the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra performs the Fourth Symphony to commemorate the composer’s 250th birth anniversary.