Dacapo Records, a note in this box set informs us 'was founded
in 1986 with the purpose of releasing the best of Danish music
past and present.' With that in mind, it is hardly surprising
that the company has the majority of Nielsen's music in its
catalogue. He's a quirky composer, but he's also a national
icon, and his work is excellently served here by Danish performers
who really get inside the music.
You might not guess from the elegant packaging, but this 'Masterworks'
series is a reissue project, made up of recordings that span
almost the entire history of the Dacapo label. Each of the six
discs in this box has been previously released, and although
much thought has gone into the design, the individual discs
retain a certain autonomy. That's partly because of the ordering
of works, which is roughly chronological on each disc, so switching
from one disc to another usually involves a leap back from the
1920s to the 1880s. The programme notes from the original releases
are combined in the liner, making for an impressive 20 pages
of information. Even more impressively, the two discs that were
originally released on SACD (the string quartets) remain on
SACD.
The chronology on each of the discs allows the listener to trace
a narrative from Nielsen's folksy nationalism of the 1880s to
his more brusque anti-Romantic style of the 1920s. However,
his output in the various genres represented here varied wildly
from period to period. So the string quartets on the first two
discs are almost all from the 1880s, while the wind music on
the third disc is mostly from the 1920s. Listeners who are after
that typical Nielsen sound, that constructivist/Shostakovich
thing that makes his symphonies so distinctive, should focus
on the later music, discs three and four in particular. The
string quartets aren't nearly as remarkable or interesting.
Even so, they are given excellent performances here, with strident
and lively playing from the Danish String Quartet. Stylistically,
these quartets require a fine balance between the Classicism
of Schubert and Beethoven, to which Nielsen regularly refers,
and the grounded folk-inflected gestures he adds to ensure his
Danish identity is not forgotten. That last quality comes through
in a - no doubt deliberate - unevenness in the sound, with lines
from the middle of the texture often rising to the surface as
a phrase plays out. Some of this string quartet playing is also
surprisingly aggressive, in the Scherzo of the Op.13 quartet
for example, but never to the point of excess.
The SACD audio for the string quartets is good, but the studio
sound is a little constricted, and ironically the normal CD
audio on the third and fourth discs is superior. The third opens
with an early Piano Trio in G major, which is even more Schubertian
than the early string quartets, but it then moves on to some
classic Nielsen. Serenata in Vano from 1914 takes us
straight into the composer's mature style, with all its grace
and wit. This is followed by his Wind Quintet Op.43 of 1922,
to my ear the most accomplished and distinctive work in the
whole set.
The violin works on the fourth disc are also impressive, especially
the sonatas. The First perfectly encapsulates the Nielsen sound
of the 1890s, mixing as it does lively rhythms and a bright
sound with a feeling of groundedness that comes from the music's
now distant folk roots. The Second Sonata is from 1912 and is
a considerably more complex and sophisticated work. Violinist
Jon Gjesme draws on a palette of colours and sounds that is
ideal for both works, and his performances are matched in quality
by those of Tue Lautrup, who concludes the disc with two extended
works for solo violin.
The first four discs were all recorded in 2006/7, but when we
reach the fifth we jump back to 1981. The pianist Herman D.
Koppel apparently played Nielsen's piano works to the composer
himself when he was young. By 1981 he was in his 70s, but his
playing still has remarkable dexterity. Nielsen includes a bit
of everything in his piano music, and there is plenty of humour
here, but plenty of drama too. Koppel shies away from big, charismatic
readings, but his performances are still convincing. The dynamic
range isn't huge, but it is difficult to tell if this is the
result of reserve on the part of the pianist or limitations
in the sound technology. Despite its vintage, the recording
is digital. A little more bloom on the piano sound, and perhaps
a little more bass resonance, would be welcome, but otherwise
the sound quality is eminently serviceable.
Listening to these discs back-to-back, the over-riding impression
they give is of a composer who was as eclectic as he was accomplished.
The liner notes lament that his work for string quartet falls
away before his more distinctive mature period. As the third
disc demonstrates, woodwind instruments were a far better vehicle
for this later style anyway. The quantity of material here,
and the quality in which it is performed and presented, allows
interested listeners to make their own minds up about the relative
merits of Nielsen's various chamber works. Personally, I like
the new stuff better than the old stuff.
Gavin Dixon
Track listing & performance details
CD 1 [77:40]
String Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 13 (FS4)
String Quartet No. 4 in F major, Op. 44 (FS36)
String Quintet in G major
CD 2 [63:59]
String Quartet No. 2 in F minor, Op. 5 (FS11)
String Quartet No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 14 (FS23)
CD 3 [65:04]
Piano Trio in G major, FS3i
Serenate in Vano
Wind Quintet, Op. 43 (FS 100)
Fantasy Pieces (2) for oboe & piano, Op. 2, FS 8
Canto serioso for Horn and Piano (FS132)
Three Pieces from ‘Moderen', Op. 41 (FS 94)
CD 4 [71:46]
Violin Sonata No. 1 in A major, Op. 9 (FS20)
Violin Sonata No. 2, Op. 35 (FS64)
Prelude & Theme with Variations for solo violin, Op. 48
(FS104)
Preludio e Presto for violin solo, Op. 52 (FS128)
CD 5 [59:43]
Symfonisk Suite, Op. 8, (FS19)
Piano Music for Young and Old, Op. 53 (FS148): Vols. I and II
Theme and Variations, Op. 40
CD 6 [56:04]
Chaconne, Op. 32 (FS79)
Den Luciferiske Suite, Op. 45 (FS91)
Humoresque-Bagatelles, Op. 11 (FS22)
Five Piano Pieces, Op. 3 (FS10)
Three Piano Pieces, Op. 59 (FS131)
The Danish String Quartet, Trio Ondine, DiamantEnsemblet, Jon
Gjesme (violin), Tue Lautrup (violin), Jens Elvekjaer (piano),
Herman D. Koppel (piano)
rec. CD 1: Danish Radio Concert Hall, 27-31 July and 11-13 and
19-20 August 2006. DSD; CD 2: Danish Radio Concerto Hall, 11-13
June and 17-19 August 2007. DSD; CDs 3-4: Queen's Hall, the
Black Diamond, the Royal Library, November 2006 and March 2007.
DDD; CDs 5-6: Danish Radio, Studio 3, 2, 3, 10 and 17 February
1981. DDD
rec. 1981-2007