English composer William Boyce originally wrote the Symphony No. 4 as the overture for his opera The Shepard's Lottery in 1751, and later had it published within a group of Eight Symphonies in 1760. It is apparent that Boyce could not escape the stylistic influence of George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), certainly the most powerful musical force of the late Baroque. He possesses a similar melodic gift and rhythmic drive, but not quite Handel's depth of emotion and passion. By the time these symphonies were published, one could say that Boyce's style was delightfully outdated. Composers like Johann W. A. Stamitz (1717-1757) and the Bach brothers, Carl Philippe Emanuel (1714-88) and Johann Christian (1735-82), were already experimenting their way into the Classical period of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven.

Symphony No. 4 is in the older three-movement format derived form the Italian opera overture, rather than in the newer four-movement scheme favored by Stamitz. The first movement, Allegro, is in the standard two-part binary form: AABB. The harmony of the A section is opened-ended as it leads directly into the B section, which is based on similar material. (The late Baroque binary form was used to such great effect by Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) in his keyboard sonatas.) A sturdy bass line that drops out only occasionally, contributes a sense of a sense of energized dignity. The binary form strikes again in the genuinely sweet Vivace ma non troppo. Normally, Boyce's winds play a subordinate role to the strings, but the bassoon and horns are featured prominently as they double the principal melody. The symphony ends with a thoroughly engaging Gavot of which Handel or J. S. Bach would have been proud, also in the binary form.

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