Carl Nielsen Symphonies

[Dave2002]

Setting aside the dialogue/diatribes between some participants here, I've just noticed that there are two (at least?) sets of Nielsen symphonies by Blomstedt - one on EMI and one on Decca (San Francisco). Are they both worthwhile?

I have Schmidt, and Bernstein in 3 and 5 and Karajan in 4. I also have some others, including the cheap Bostock set.

I was thinking of picking up Davis on LSO Live, as I really enjoyed some of his live performances of Sibelius and Nielsen in recent years.

Comments on the various Blomstedt issues would be appreciated.

[Nick Armstrong]

Setting aside the dialogue/diatribes between some participants here, I've just noticed that there are two (at least?) sets of Nielsen symphonies by Blomstedt - one on EMI and one on Decca (San Francisco). Are they both worthwhile?

I have Schmidt, and Bernstein in 3 and 5 and Karajan in 4. I also have some others, including the cheap Bostock set.

I was thinking of picking up Davis on LSO Live, as I really enjoyed some of his live performances of Sibelius and Nielsen in recent years.

Comments on the various Blomstedt issues would be appreciated.

I think I did hear one of the EMI Blomstedt performances - eclipsed imo by the Decca San Francisco set. As mentioned above, I have the same Bernstein recording as you, but haven't returned to it much - apparently the performances sound better in later issues of the same recording.

I have problems with LSO Live recordings due to the 'Barbican effect' - just don't like the sound-stage that recordings made there present.

[teamsaint]

This thread make the coffee thread look positively sensible.

Next time I need a recommendation for Neilson, I will politely ask JLW, Roehre, Suffy, or some othe helpful regular contributor and trust them......

Opinions on music are fascinating,and there i much to learn for all of us, but it doesn't need all this nonsense.

[Dave2002]

I think I did hear one of the EMI Blomstedt performances - eclipsed imo by the Decca San Francisco set. As mentioned above, I have the same Bernstein recording as you, but haven't returned to it much - apparently the performances sound better in later issues of the same recording.

I have problems with LSO Live recordings due to the 'Barbican effect' - just don't like the sound-stage that recordings made there present.

I agree about Barbican LSO live recordings, but nevertheless I did hear several performances by Davis there, and enjoyed them. Sometimes I buy CDs in the hope that at least the music making will shine through, even if the acoustics and sound engineering are suspect, though in the case of LSO/Barbican this might be a triumph of hope over experience.

[teamsaint]

Oh no, typo. hang head in shame.
I really must learn never ever to make any mistakes ever.

perhaps I could find somebody round here to teach me.
Oh no, he's gone.

[Bryn]

Stop complaining and participate instead Roehre! And teamsaint, who is Neilson? If you can´t even spell the name right, you are disqualified. Most of you people are over sensitive sissies who cannot take any kind of confrontation. The only person who stood up was Jayne, and for that I respect her. The rest of you are idiots, almost all, and I will no longer take part on this site. You react with your primal brain and stab at things you don´t understand. Bye bye.

Well, foldy-roll again.
Good ridance, say I.

[Bryn]

荒らし

...............And where from? you fiscal genius.

A marketplace vendor at the tax dodgers.

[PJPJ]

I agree about Barbican LSO live recordings, but nevertheless I did hear several performances by Davis there, and enjoyed them. Sometimes I buy CDs in the hope that at least the music making will shine through, even if the acoustics and sound engineering are suspect, though in the case of LSO/Barbican this might be a triumph of hope over experience.

I listened to all the broadcasts and was thoroughly won over - the LSO Live recordings sound very good to me in surround sound via the SACD layer. I'll certainly get the third and final volume when it appears.

The Blomstedt mid 1970s EMI recordings still sound well (I seem to remember the LPs as quadraphonic) and the performances are rewarding despite less good playing than from the San Franciscans. The edge of the seat playing adds to the tension, I think, and after many years of wondering which cycle I'd keep, I still haven't come to a conclusion. Then again, I still get enormous pleasure from listening to the first recording of the 3rd I heard - John Frandsen on a 10" Philips LP, now on CD from Dutton and others. The playing isn't brilliant, not in the LSO class, but it communicates the music wonderfully well. Of course, nostalgia for my teen-age years may be part of all this.

[Tony Halstead]

Well, foldy-roll again.
Good ridance, say I.

Hear, hear!

[Nick Armstrong]

The rest of you are idiots, almost all, and I will no longer take part on this site. You react with your primal brain and stab at things you don´t understand. Bye bye.

You'll soon find a more congenial home...

[richardfinegold]

You'll soon find a more congenial home...

You may not want him on your enchanted isle, Caliban.

[Nick Armstrong]

You may not want him on your enchanted isle, Caliban.

No fear!

[hafod]

The rest of you are idiots, almost all, and I will no longer take part on this site. You react with your primal brain and stab at things you don´t understand. Bye bye.

It's a flounce! So much for Tommy Rott - oops, sorry for the typo!

[richardfinegold]

PJPJ stated--

The Blomstedt mid 1970s EMI recordings still sound well (I seem to remember the LPs as quadraphonic) and the performances are rewarding despite less good playing from the San Franciscans.

I think that you have conflated the two Blomstedt cycles. His 1970s cycle was with the Danish National Radio Symphony, and the later cycle was with the San Francisco Symphony. I have been listening to both cycles over the past few days since this thread started. The earlier cycle (yes, I do believe it was released in quad, and it would be fun for multichannel enthusiasts such as myself to see it rereleased in multichannel) is ,IMO,less well played. Perhaps the issue was the conductor being less familiar with the music than he was when he rerecorded the set, because you would expect the Danish orchestra to have this music in their bones. The difference in recorded sound is striking as well. The EMI Danish version sounds recessed and somewhat diffuse, but the Decca recording of the SFSO has real presence and impact. Try the last movements of 3 and 4 for comparison. The Decca puts the tympani from the Inextinguishable right in my listening room, but the EMI leaves them down the hall by the loo.
On the other hand, the EMI has great notes by David Fanning. Was it Jayne that referenced Fanning earlier? I especially enjoyed his discussion of Nielsen's use of progressive tonality, ending these works in a different key from the first movement. Fanning points out that Nielsen grew up in a remote province and that for him, the tonality progression was symbolic of his own progression, from obscurity to great National (and ultimately, international) acclaim.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

The Blomstedt mid 1970s EMI recordings still sound well (I seem to remember the LPs as quadraphonic) and the performances are rewarding despite less good playing than from the San Franciscans.

Was this what was meant?