Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 50 ("Arcadian")

Book excerpt: George Frederick Bristow (1825–98), considered by many of his contemporaries to be among the best American composers of the second half of the nineteenth century, was a pillar of the New York musical community. He wrote his Symphony no. 4 in E minor, op. 50 (“Arcadian”), in 1872–73 on a commission from the Philharmonic Society of Brooklyn. Unlike his earlier symphonies, which had been faulted by some contemporary critics as being too “Europeanist,” the Arcadian follows an overtly American extramusical program that depicts pioneers’ trek across the country. Early performances of the symphony met with widespread acclaim, but this work, like many compositions by other American composers, was shelved. This edition is the first publication of the Arcadian Symphony and joins a welcome body of new scholarship on Bristow just in time for the bicentennial of his birth in 2025 and the two hundred fiftieth birthday of the nation in 2026.