This scholarly edition seeks to provide a definitive, corrected musical score for Ralph Vaughan Williams's Symphony No. 4, addressing the inconsistencies found in previous iterations. The editor, David Matthews, utilizes primary source materials and historical performance data to reconstruct the composer's original intent. By replacing outdated editions from 1935 and 1983, this volume establishes a new standard for academic study and orchestral performance of this dissonant work.

Experts and musicologists regard this edition as the current standard for the study and performance of Vaughan Williams's work. The inclusion of extensive textual notes provides researchers with the necessary transparency to understand the evolution of the score.