The Nielsen Nexus

Started by BachQ, April 12, 2007, 10:10:00 AM

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Mirror Image

#420
Quote from: Moonfish on July 16, 2015, 08:28:58 PM
Carl Nielsen is the "composer of the month" in the current issue of BBC Music Magazine!    ;)



Woo hoo! Too bad he didn't make the cover story. That would've been really awesome. 8)

Moonfish

"Every time you spend money you are casting a vote for the kind of world you want...."
Anna Lappé

Moonfish

Quote from: Mirror Image on July 16, 2015, 08:31:12 PM
Woo hoo! Too bad he didn't make the cover story. That would haven't been really awesome. 8)

Yeah, considering the anniversary he should have been the cover story!    >:(

Btw - a great interview with Thomas Søndergård in that issue. I kind of wish he was the new conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic. I think we can expect a lot of great music from him in the future!   :)
"Every time you spend money you are casting a vote for the kind of world you want...."
Anna Lappé

Mirror Image

#423
Quote from: Moonfish on July 16, 2015, 08:35:04 PM
Yeah, considering the anniversary he should have been the cover story!    >:(

Btw - a great interview with Thomas Søndergård in that issue. I kind of wish he was the new conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic. I think we can expect a lot of great music from him in the future!   :)

Yes! Totally! Sibelius made the cover and was the main article in the February 2015 issue, so why didn't Nielsen get the same kind of royal treatment? I suppose a lot of it still stems from the fact that Nielsen's star didn't shine as brightly as Sibelius' during their lifetimes. It seems Nielsen was a country hero while Sibelius reached an international audience. This doesn't, however, mean that one composer is better than the other. Quite the contrary. I obviously love both composers, but it just kind of rubs me the wrong way when a composer who has been recognized as one of the greats of the 20th Century is given a 'Composer of the Month' column as if to be pushed aside.

71 dB

Quote from: Mirror Image on July 13, 2015, 10:53:43 AM
This is another symphony that made a huge impression on me when I first started getting into classical music six years ago. Symphony No. 4, like Nielsen's other symphonies, is a world unto it's own. There's a sense of transcendence in this music, but, as common in Nielsen's music, there's a duality happening here. It's almost like a struggle between heaven and earth. The rhythmic element of the music seems to keep it grounded and this is especially evident in the first movement: Allegro. What does everyone at GMG think of this symphony? I think it's a masterpiece, but don't take my word for it, I'm quite biased. ;) ;D A few favorite performances: Blomstedt/SFSO, Schonwandt/Danish NSO, and Oramo/Royal Stockholm PO.

When I heard Nielsen's Fourth Symphony the first time (possibly the first time I heard Nielsen's music in my life) on radio some 15 years ago I was blown away. It's my favorite Symphony by Nielsen and I consider it one of the best Symphonies ever written.

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Karl Henning

Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Mirror Image

Quote from: 71 dB on July 17, 2015, 01:44:38 AM
When I heard Nielsen's Fourth Symphony the first time (possibly the first time I heard Nielsen's music in my life) on radio some 15 years ago I was blown away. It's my favorite Symphony by Nielsen and I consider it one of the best Symphonies ever written.

It's certainly nothing short of a masterpiece.

Camphy

Quote from: Mirror Image on July 16, 2015, 08:09:30 PM
Very cool. 8) Thanks! On an unrelated note, how are you liking Schonwandt's Nielsen cycle so far?

Too early to tell; I've only managed to listen to the first symphony thus far.
Hope to report back to you soon.


Mirror Image

Quote from: Camphy on July 17, 2015, 08:17:37 AM
Too early to tell; I've only managed to listen to the first symphony thus far.
Hope to report back to you soon.

Sounds like a plan. 8)

Klaze

Seems there have been quite a few new releases of the symphonies in the recent past. Anything particularly worthwile?  Ive only got the Blomstedt & Kuchar cycles so far and a few separate ones.

Mirror Image

Quote from: Klaze on July 18, 2015, 01:06:36 AM
Seems there have been quite a few new releases of the symphonies in the recent past. Anything particularly worthwile?  Ive only got the Blomstedt & Kuchar cycles so far and a few separate ones.

Yes, I highly recommend Oramo's cycle on BIS. Outstnding performances. Oh and if you don't have Bernstein's Nielsen, then run, don't walk over to Amazon and buy them all (if you can find them cheap as they're OOP I believe).

Moonfish

How are the LSO Live Colin Davis renditions regarded by GMG "Nielsenites"?

Review on MusicWeb

[asin] B00SKFJETK[/asin]
"Every time you spend money you are casting a vote for the kind of world you want...."
Anna Lappé

Karl Henning

Quote from: Moonfish on July 20, 2015, 09:42:01 AM
Review on MusicWeb

I do not know the recording, but gosh, this review was certainly dramatic to read.
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Mirror Image

Quote from: karlhenning on July 20, 2015, 09:56:42 AM
I do not know the recording, but gosh, this review was certainly dramatic to read.

I disagree with the praise of Alan Gilbert's Nielsen in that article. I don't think it's 'all that.'

Moonfish

Quote from: Mirror Image on July 20, 2015, 01:13:11 PM
I disagree with the praise of Alan Gilbert's Nielsen in that article. I don't think it's 'all that.'

John,
You purchased the Colin Davis recordings recently (if I recall correctly). Would you recommend them?  :-\
"Every time you spend money you are casting a vote for the kind of world you want...."
Anna Lappé

Mirror Image

Quote from: Moonfish on July 20, 2015, 01:14:37 PM
John,
You purchased the Colin Davis recordings recently (if I recall correctly). Would you recommend them?  :-\

I haven't heard but the 4th and 5th so far and I can't say I'm particularly taken with either performance, but that's just from a first-listen.

Moonfish

Quote from: Mirror Image on July 20, 2015, 01:17:00 PM
I haven't heard but the 4th and 5th so far and I can't say I'm particularly taken with either performance, but that's just from a first-listen.

Looking forward to your impressions when they materialize!  8)
"Every time you spend money you are casting a vote for the kind of world you want...."
Anna Lappé

Sergeant Rock

#437
Quote from: Mirror Image on July 20, 2015, 01:13:11 PM
I disagree with the praise of Alan Gilbert's Nielsen in that article. I don't think it's 'all that.'

I agree. I'm not hearing what this MusicWeb guy hears in Gilbert's Espansiva. He writes:

"Let's deal first with the engineering: it is the servant of the music but here the stereo is a sensuous experience in its own right! Never before on disc have I heard layering and inner detail which the conductor here elicits and the musicians contribute."

Lack of detail is what I first noticed about the disc. I'm listening to it again, with earphones this time, and I'm still missing tons of detail (especially trumpet and woodwind detail) I hear in other recordings.

He writes: "Alan Gilbert interprets Nielsen's Third Symphony in a way I have never heard before."

I hear a quite an ordinary interpretation. Nothing stands out as particularly, or uniquely, special. (Edit: the Allegretto is nicely done.)

Because of my disappointment with Gilbert's Third, I didn't buy the rest of his cycle. Maybe I'm missing out but based on what I have heard I'm not worrying about it.

Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

Mirror Image

Quote from: Moonfish on July 20, 2015, 01:40:48 PM
Looking forward to your impressions when they materialize!  8)

That is if they materialize. ;) If being the operative word here. :)

Mirror Image

Quote from: Sergeant Rock on July 20, 2015, 01:43:51 PM
I agree. I'm not hearing what this MusicWeb guy hears in Gilbert's Espansiva. He writes:

"Let's deal first with the engineering: it is the servant of the music but here the stereo is a sensuous experience in its own right! Never before on disc have I heard layering and inner detail which the conductor here elicits and the musicians contribute."

Lack of detail is what I first noticed about the disc. I'm listening to it again, with earphones this time, and I'm still missing tons of detail (especially trumpet and woodwind detail) I hear in other recordings.

He writes: "Alan Gilbert interprets Nielsen's Third Symphony in a way I have never heard before."

I hear a quite an ordinary interpretation. Nothing stands out as particularly, or uniquely, special. (Edit: the Allegretto is nicely done.)

Because of my disappointment with Gilbert's Third, I didn't buy the rest of his cycle. Maybe I'm missing out but based on what I have heard I'm not worrying about it.

Sarge

It's really sad to think about because I LOVE the New York Philharmonic and really believed in them, but when you have what I believe to be an uninspired conductor, you have an uninspired performance and one that'll never catch fire. A lot of people love this cycle and that's certainly their right, but I just can't get onboard with Gilbert.