The Fifth Symphony was composed from March to May 1946. Although Martinů initially spoke of dedicating it to the Red Cross, in the end the score was dedicated to the Czech Philharmonic, perhaps in anticipation of a return to his native land. Although this repatriation did not come about, the Fifth nevertheless is the only one of Martinů’s symphonies to have been premiered by a Czech orchestra: Rafael Kubelik conducted the Czech Philharmonic in the first performance, at the Prague Spring Festival on 28 May 1947 (Crump 2010, 317–18).
| Date of composition | 1946 (from March to May 1946) in New York, NY, United States |
| Premiered | 1947, May 28th in Prague, Czech Republic by Rafael Kubelik |
| First published | 1950 by Boosey & Hawkes in London, United Kingdom |
| Dedicated to | The Czech Philharmonic |
| Type | Symphony |
| Catalogue | H 310 |
| Approx. duration | 27 minutes |
| Instruments | Orchestra |
| Autotranslations beta |
Bohuslav Martinů: Symphonie n°5, H 310 Bohuslav Martinů: Sinfonia n. 5, H 310 Bohuslav Martinů: Sinfonie Nr. 5, H 310 |