MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


CD REVIEW

Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

alternatively
CD: AmazonUK AmazonUS
Download: Classicsonline


Carl NIELSEN (1865-1931)
Symphony No. 1, FS 16, Op. 7 (1889-94) [33:03]
Symphony No. 6, FS 116, Sinfonia semplice (1924-25) [34:43]
Danish National Symphony Orchestra/Michael Schønwandt
rec. Danish Concert Hall, Copenhagen, 27-28 March 2000 (No. 1), 29 March, 10 April, 20 June and 31 July 2000 (No. 6). Co-production with DR/Danish National Broadcasting Corporation. DDD
previously released on Dacapo 8.224169
NAXOS 8.570737 [67:47]
Experience Classicsonline


I had planned to welcome this CD back into print, but thought I should check Amazaon.com first. Lo and behold, the original Dacapo recording is still very much available! The advantages of that original are the more extensive notes and the cover art: an interesting portrait of Nielsen on the Dacapo vs. a spring landscape that could be anywhere. The advantage of this Naxos CD is, of course, the price.

The recordings, themselves, should be well known to all or at least most lovers of Nielsen’s symphonies. In short, these are two of the very best renditions of these works. Their main competition in terms of sound, performance, and interpretation comes from Herbert Blomstedt, particularly in his later recordings with the San Francisco Symphony. Those are also available at budget price in a couple of Decca two-fers containing a few other works of Nielsen as well. Schønwandt and Blomstedt are different enough in their interpretations of the symphonies to make both valuable, but the primary difference is in the sound itself. As recorded, the San Francisco orchestra seems somewhat beefier with a weightier bass, while the Danish orchestra is more transparent and lighter. Blomstedt’s accounts are recorded more closely and at a somewhat higher level than Schønwandt’s. By raising the volume slightly, the latter’s accounts are brought into sharper focus and compare very well with Blomstedt’s. While overall timings are fairly close, the two conductors diverge in certain movements. For example, Schønwandt is a bit slower in the first two movements of Symphony No. 1, but faster than Blomstedt in the last two. Blomstedt’s brass chorales in the third movement are more imposing than Schønwandt’s, but the latter’s finale has more bite. In Symphony No.6, Schønwandt takes more time with the first movement and impresses with his crisper articulation by the strings. Overall, Blomstedt’s orchestra is stronger in the brass and percussion departments, but his woodwinds are not as delectable as Schønwandt’s. However, I should point out that these differences are minimal in the larger scheme and preferences for one over the other are very much a personal thing. For example, I love the way Schønwandt brings out the flute, clarinet and oboe parts in the Sixth Symphony’s second movement, but miss the really rude trombone slides that Blomstedt provides. It must be said, however, that the Danes play this music to the manner born and their very fluency should not be taken for granted.

I am always struck by the greatness of Nielsen’s six symphonies. All of them are masterpieces and all have that unmistakable Nielsen sound. If the First Symphony shows influences of Brahms in places and the Sixth looks forward to Bartók and Shostakovich they are at the same time pure Nielsen. Every respectable collection of twentieth-century music should contain at least one set of these works and Schønwandt’s are as good a place to start as any, especially at the lower cost available now. For the record, these recordings use the new critical edition of the symphonies. Listening to Blomstedt and Schønwandt side by side, I could not discern any differences between the standard edition that Blomstedt presumably used and the new one. I imagine a close study of the scores would reveal some variants in scoring. The general listener, though, should find either recording satisfying. For myself, I have a slight preference for Schønwandt’s recording of the First Symphony and Blomstedt’s of the Sixth. Naxos is in the process of issuing the remaining symphonies, with the disc containing the Second and Third next. In the meantime do pick up a copy of this CD at your earliest opportunity, particularly if you don’t know these wonderful works.

Leslie Wright

see also Review by Dan Morgan



 


 


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Chandos recordings
All Chandos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools




Return to Review Index

Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.