The Nielsen Nexus

[jlaurson]

That's terrible.  The majority of classical music listeners still prefer buying cds (actually the majority of music listeners as a whole still buy more cds than digital downloads), offering only downloads is flat out foolish.

No... it's not. It's just a different marketing angle and need not necessarily (as the Nielsen project shows) come at the expense of 'proper' distribution/format choices.

Nor is what you say true for all markets; LSO live, for example, sells more in digital format in the US than in hard-copy.

Nor would it be advisable to saturate the market with CDs of 'everything'. Really, who on earth would buy run-of-the-mill NYPhil concerts with Alan Gilbert on CD? No.... prudence on that front is surely warranted... and then release only something that is really thought out, has an angle, and hopefully the quality to withstand the competition while offering an interpretive-something-special.

The important stuff will, for the foreseeable future, still be issued on CDs also. [Which is good for me, because I don't do 'digital' yet. Just can't get excited or attached to files on my computer, even if great music hides behind them. Lack of sense of ownership, I reckon.]

[DavidW]

Nor is what you say true for all markets; LSO live, for example, sells more in digital format in the US than in hard-copy.

You've cherry picked a specific case, but overall it's something like 2/3 of the market are still cds.  And the erosion due to digital downloads is most likely less significant in the classical music sector given that arkivmusic still continues to exist and grow even in a recession despite being a cd store with a just few download options.

Nor would it be advisable to saturate the market with CDs of 'everything'. Really, who on earth would buy run-of-the-mill NYPhil concerts with Alan Gilbert on CD? No.... prudence on that front is surely warranted... and then release only something that is really thought out, has an angle, and hopefully the quality to withstand the competition while offering an interpretive-something-special.

I can say who on earth would buy run-of-the-mill NYPhil concerts with Albert Gilbert period!  If it's not a great performance, another format won't change that.  I don't see why itunes albums at $10 per is more worth it than a cd, it's not the price.  You could still spend that money on better recordings.  And that season pass is $150, that buys many high quality performances on itunes or cd.

[DavidW]

And I'll add that that itunes albums are not bargains.  Itunes is considered by many to be a cheap option simply because with pop music it allows customers to choose the 2-3 songs they like and pay for only those so that they have paid $2-3 for what they wanted instead of $10-17.  But for classical listeners we want entire albums, and many listeners also desire lossless audio.  And the fact is that amazon marketplace and ebay (and other sites) offer cds cheaper than albums on itunes.  This is why the majority of classical listeners (that pay for their music) are cd buyers.  You don't want to alienate that audience.  Not now at least.

[Mirror Image]

That's terrible.  The majority of classical music listeners still prefer buying cds (actually the majority of music listeners as a whole still buy more cds than digital downloads), offering only downloads is flat out foolish.

I agree they should have released some recordings already. Like you said, a lot of people still buy CDs, myself included, and would have liked to hear how Gilbert is doing with the NY Philharmonic.

[Mirror Image]

My goodness An Imaginary Journey to the Faroe Islands is a killer piece! Whew....

[Vesteralen]

In preparation for being moved to the original "Carl Nielsen" thread, I'm emending my post to just talk about the Opus 1

Suite for Strings (also known as "The Little Suite" or "The Petite Suite") Op. 1:

Written when he was 22 or 23, this is still one of Nielsen's most popular works.  The first movement - "Praludium" is a short and kind of mysterious little Andante.  It's intriguing, but I don't catch much in it that reminds me of the later symphonies.  The second movement is a dance-like Allegro moderato, reminding me a lot of Dvorak with a touch of Grieg-like moments.  The oom-pah-pah string rhythm of the secondary theme testifies to that folk-music background I mentioned.  Overall, this is my favorite of the three movements, even if it does seem a bit derivative.  The opening Andante of the third and final movement is the first part that made me say - "There's Nielsen!", because the theme has a signature Nielsen melodic line to it.  Unfortunately, the Allegro con brio that follows this short introduction seems pretty conventional to me.  It seems like a lot of fuss about relatively nothing (which is very, very uncharacteristic of the mature Nielsen).

To date, I've only heard one version of this work.  I'm going to sample some more and listen many more times to it.  I expect I'll change my analysis a little after that.  I know everyone will be waiting with baited breath. 

In the meantime, comment away - especially if you know more about "The Little Suite".

[DavidW]

I searched for a thread devoted exclusively to Carl Nielsen, and I couldn't find one. 

The search engine doesn't like you!

http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php?topic=230.0

[DavidW]

Bumped for Vesteralen.

[Vesteralen]

The search engine doesn't like you!

http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php?topic=230.0

Rats.  You'd think the word "Nielsen" would have been enough to bring this up.  I guess I needed to put the "Carl" in. 

Well, I expect to be tagged onto the existing thread after all.   Which is okay.

Now I have a lot more reading to do!

[DavidW]

My trick is that I just google, this is what I typed into google btw:

Code Select Expand

nielsen site:http://www.good-music-guide.com/community

It works better than gmg's search engine, I never use it myself.

[Vesteralen]

My trick is that I just google, this is what I typed into google btw:

Code Select Expand

nielsen site:http://www.good-music-guide.com/community

It works better than gmg's search engine, I never use it myself.

Thanks, I'll try to remember that trick.

In the meantime, I edited my original post so it won't look as embarrassing when I'm moved to the original thread.   

[Vesteralen]

Alex Ross about Nielsen in this week's The New Yorker:

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/musical/2008/02/25/080225crmu_music_ross

I know this is old, but I love this article.  Thanks for linking it.

[Mirror Image]

I know this is old, but I love this article.  Thanks for linking it.

What are your favorite Nielsen works?

[Vesteralen]

What are your favorite Nielsen works?

I think I can truthfully say that I've never heard a Nielsen work I didn't like.  Of the symphonies, the Fifth has always seemed to me to be in a class by itself.  The Sixth is probably the one I have the least affection for at this point, but maybe I need to do some more concentrated listening.

The Maskerade and Helios Overtures, along with the Saga-Drom are special to me, and I love all the concertos.

Of all the Nielsens I've heard so far, only the String Quartets seem to be less than fascinating, but, again, I haven't given them the attention they probably deserve.

[Mirror Image]

I think I can truthfully say that I've never heard a Nielsen work I didn't like.  Of the symphonies, the Fifth has always seemed to me to be in a class by itself.  The Sixth is probably the one I have the least affection for at this point, but maybe I need to do some more concentrated listening.

The Maskerade and Helios Overtures, along with the Saga-Drom are special to me, and I love all the concertos.

Of all the Nielsens I've heard so far, only the String Quartets seem to be less than fascinating, but, again, I haven't given them the attention they probably deserve.

Those are all great works. I've never cared much for the 6th either. The 2nd, 4th, and 5th are my favorite Nielsen symphonies. Have you heard An Imaginary Journey to the Faroe Islands?

[DavidW]

Oh man I can't wait to listen to the Frost recording of the great clarinet concerto I have it on a nml playlist!

btw I stand with MI, my favorite symphonies are 2, 4 and 5.   But I like the clarinet concerto as much btw.

[Vesteralen]

Those are all great works. I've never cared much for the 6th either. The 2nd, 4th, and 5th are my favorite Nielsen symphonies. Have you heard An Imaginary Journey to the Faroe Islands?

It's on the 2CD Blomstedt EMI with the Concertos and other orchestral works.  I know I've played this many times, but I need to refresh my memory on this particular track.  I'll pull it out and play it later today after I get done with all the other stuff I have to do in the next few hours.

[Mirror Image]

It's on the 2CD Blomstedt EMI with the Concertos and other orchestral works.  I know I've played this many times, but I need to refresh my memory on this particular track.  I'll pull it out and play it later today after I get done with all the other stuff I have to do in the next few hours.

I prefer the Dausgaard performance to Blomstedt's. I have not heard Chung's performance (yet). Do you own this recording?

[asin]B000M2DNQY[/asin]

I highly recommend it. Some very enthusiastic, authentic performances of some of Nielsen's other orchestral works.

[karlhenning]

I think I can truthfully say that I've never heard a Nielsen work I didn't like.

Likewise.

If you take the Sixth Symphony on its own terms, which is more like chamber music than like The Last Symphony Culminating a Cycle, I think it is easier to appreciate it as the work of audacious, assured genius that it is.  This is an iconic instance of Nielsen zigging where the expectation is a zag.

[karlhenning]

Oh man I can't wait to listen to the Frost recording of the great clarinet concerto I have it on a nml playlist!

Truly an outstanding performance of a great, great piece!  You're entirely right: this concerto is as great as or greater than any of the symphonies!