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Symphonies of Nielsen

8K views 63 replies 30 participants last post by  annaw 
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#1 ·
I just got the Vanska set of Nielsen symphonies. Since I am unfamiliar with these works, in what order should I tackle them? I usually would start with the most popular or widely acclaimed, but from what I hear, the Nielsen symphonies are consistantly good. I need to start somewhere and in the morning I will check on the recommendations of those in the know. That's means TC peeps. Good night all.
 
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#4 ·
Don't tackle any of them. This is music, not (American) football.

As for which order, well, none of us are you. Only you are you. You're asking us which order according to most popular or widely acclaimed? But that would be according to other people besides you. People who are not you. I.e., you've left yourself out of this equation entirely!

My suggestion, correction, my request is that you listen to all of them, several times, and then tell us what you experienced.
 
#10 ·
My own experience was that I listened to the Jascha Horenstein version of the 5th on Nonesuch back in the 1970s and loved it. I didn't go any farther with Nielsen symphonies until about ten years ago when I bought the Naxos cheapies of 1,2,3 and 6 and Blomstedt's SFO 4th & 5th and went through them in numerical order multiple times.

Personally, I loved them all immediately except for No. 6 which took longer to grow on me.

Enjoy.
 
#13 ·
My own experience was that I listened to the Jascha Horenstein version of the 5th on Nonesuch back in the 1970s and loved it. . . .

Personally, I loved them all immediately except for No. 6 which took longer to grow on me.

Enjoy.
Horenstein was my introduction to Nielsen, and I, too, grew up with his recording of No. 5 on Nonesuch. It's still my favorite recording of that work. I also found No. 6 to be the most difficult, and am still working on it.

I'll be interested to know how you fare with these works, Jerome. Especially 1, 2 and 3, which I've not heard.
 
#11 ·
I personally find 2nd and 3rd to be the works I listen to the most frequently-even though not necessarily the symphonies that the man is most remembered for they are nonetheless very individual and at the same time particularly 'accessible'-as with a previous 'poster' I do find the 6th to be the most 'challenging'!
 
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#12 ·
Every time I have a chance to survey a new composer I always like to start from the beginning as it will give a better view of how the composer develops over time, and that often, as Some Guy imply, takes a lot of re-listening to each work! And it is often good, not to judge any music before having heard several interpretations, even subtle interpretative differences can make or brake an awful lot of works (for this, a service like "spotify" is a very useful tool)!

After this You'll better know what appeal to You and what don't!

/ptr
 
#18 ·
Let's see here. You have a box set of Carl Nielsen's symphonies, one of several if not many currently available (there is also a fairly extensive catalogue of single discs with his symphonies on them.) Ergo: Nielsen is no obscure symphonist, and there is a general consensus that:
he was a good / great composer
the symphonies are good enough / popular enough to warrant all those extant recordings in circulation.

So, you are unfamiliar with all six symphonies. Get familiar with them, then.

I fail to understand when there is already the obvious 'yea vote' with all those recordings as visible evidence, what seems to be a further need to find which of those symphonies others think 'the best.' I also cannot at all admire that approach and somewhat feel sorry for anyone who really needs 'permission' from others before they can just sit down and listen to something they have already purchased. I also can not fathom what meaning, or influence, those 'which is better / best' opinions would have on you as a listener.

So... in whatever order you will as you will, and the suggestion to listen to them in the order they were created is so loaded with common sense it needs no further comment.
 
#23 ·
If this is the only occasion of like need for guidance after the fact of holding that which one is asking about in hand, before listening to it on their own, I would think it an exception, and perhaps say nothing about it at all. Happily, it is not quite 'the ruling rule,' but it happens far too often, and I hope to change the way some / too many seem to even approach works before they have 'just listened' to them.

First ~ "Face the music," the rest, imho, should follow.
 
#36 ·
this morning-walking along part of the coast of N.E. England I listened to Schonwandt interpretation of the second symphony on my I pod and I can readily admit to having enjoyed the work so much that I listened to it more than once-it did occur to me that Denmark is immediately across the north sea and this may have informed the notion that the music directly reflected the environment-but I digress, simple point is the more I encounter these works the more satisfaction I derive from them!
 
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#49 ·
Just finishing up my first listen to all six symphonies with my new Vanska set
I have Vanska's Bis recordings too - but I never listen to them - I prefer:

Paavo Jarvi on RCA

Baton Tie Gesture Music Formal wear


John Storgårds on Chandos

Gesture Font Poster Art Illustration


Alan Gilbert on Dacapo

Face Forehead Nose Head Chin


and Herbert Bloomstedt 2nd recording with the San Francisco Symphony on Decca. (NOT the 1st one on EMI)

Water Ecoregion Natural landscape World Font


If you want a Danish recording of this Danish composer Michael Schønwandt has a "double set" (including a cycle on cds and a cycle on dvds).

Plant Font Adaptation Rectangle Fence
 
#50 ·
I like No.1 and No.5 best. No.2 is good - the others do not grab me quite so much. But all are enjoyable listens each time/every time.

Re. OP - I certainly would not seek advice as to what order to listen to any symphony cycle. In this case, the fact there are only 6 in total suggests a lack of personal confidence. As the OP was written in 2014 I hope this insecurity has resolved itself by now.
 
#54 ·
Schonwandt, Gilbert and Blomstedt are all keepers for me, too, but if you dont mind a little more rustic and cheaper option then Kuchar is a bargain alternative. Personally, i rate Schonwandt as my fave set at the mo (I only got into that set and the Gilbert 6 months ago so theyre still fresh for me).
 
#55 ·
Yeah, I have had the Blomstedt SFSO set for a long time - no problems with that one.
I also have Kuchar which was indeed very cheap, given what came with it, but I haven't really had time to check it out much yet. I thought No 1 was pretty good.

My question is about Salonen and the Swedish RSO. I got that as one of those 199 Koruna downloads from Supraphonline, and it includes the symphonies plus some other stuff. Any comments on quality? (Again, I haven't had time to listen much yet. I though 2 was good, but 1 not as good as Kuchar. I can't remember why and it was marginal.)
 
#64 · (Edited)
I think I sort of understand what you mean, but what you describe as endless meandering is probably exactly the thing that makes Nielsen to me interesting to listen to. It's his constant wittiness and unpredictability - you never really know what he'll do next - the finale of his 4th symphony is a fantastic example of that. He was definitely stylistically very individual and would experiment with his works quite a bit, but he exhibited a great talent since young age and his orchestration is wonderfully colourful in my opinion.

Bur to each their own :).

When it comes to recordings then I have never been able to decide which symphony cycle is my favourite - I love Oramo's BIS sound quality a lot but should listen more to arrive to any kind of definite conclusion.
 
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