Little (Chamber) Symphony No.4: (Dixtour pour instruments à cordes), Op.74, by Darius Milhaud is a work for 10 string instruments composed in Vienna in 1921. It is not to be confused with Symphony No.4. The music is polytonal and progresses through a variety of contrasting moods. The first two movements employ ostinatos to repeat basic musical ideas. The first movement is marked “Animé”. It is a lively dance in triple meter and stylistically refers back to the baroque period. The second movement is marked “Assez lent” and features multiple double bass solos. The final movement incorporates imitative polyphony in a fugal section.
Contents
Milhaud’s fourth little symphony is approximately 6 minutes in duration and contains the following movements:
- Ouverture (approx. 0’45’’)
- Choral (approx. 3’25’’)
- Etude (approx. 1’50’’)
This little symphony was originally published by Dover Publications in 1922.
Instrumentation
Reception
Little Symphony No.4 has received mixed reviews since its inception. G. W. Hopkins pointed out the “irritating antics” of this little symphony in his 1970 review in The Musical Times. Christopher Headington of the classical music review website Gramophone referred to the etude movement as “comic.”