Coming between the Eroica and the C minor, Beethoven's Fourth Symphony has often been regarded as a less ‘important’ work than either of those two giants; and it inspired Schumann’s oft-quoted phrase of ‘a slender Grecian maiden between two Norse giants.’ It is a simpler, more, delicate and contrasting work, more graceful in contour but not a shade less inventive melodically. (Vox Classics)
