BaL 19.04.14 - Nielsen: Symphony no. 2

[Sir Velo]

Ithe aforementioned Gilbert, which was poorly recorded and rather dissapointed as an interpretation.

I totally agree rfg. IIRC, Very little to get excited about in these jejune performances and boxy recordings. CD Review made it a disc of the week, and its limitations, both sonic and artistic were all to evident for those who know these works well.

[CallMePaul]

I acquired the Blomstedt San Francisco Decca set many years ago (stunningly designed box set with beautiful images by the brilliant illustrator, Liz Pyle) and then much later the EMI Blomstedt(!) set.

They are both excellent - possibly the benchmarks? When I listen to either of them, I honestly can't imagine how they could be improved. The perfect recordings. Therefore I almost certainly will not augment my Nielsen symphonies, but I am looking forward to BaL.

I have the earlier Blomstedt set from Copenhagen and have always enjoyed it. In general I find many American orchestras, especially those away from the East Coast, too brass-dominated for my taste and prefer the European sound in orchestral releases. The later Blomstedt set from San Fran has generally been regarded as superseding the Copenhagen cycle but I have not done direct comparisons. I too am looking forward to this comparison; whether it will change my preferences and/or make me buy another cycle or single disc remains to be seen!

[Barbirollians]

My first recording was the Naxos Leaper - that went to the charity shop soon after I had acquired the SFSO/Blomstedt.

[seabright]

As far as i can ascertain the Stokowski DVD and the audio Nielsen 2 on the Stokowski Great conductors of the Century CD issue are the same performance.
Can anyone verify this? I only have the GCOC CDs.

You are correct. The GCOD release is the soundtrack of the televised relay, which is on a 'VAI' DVD, and was the only time Stokowski conducted the work. This TV broadcast has in turn has been uploaded onto You Tube in its four separate movements, starting with this one ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHC530IV4oI

By the way, I also hope the wonderful Morton Gould / Chicago SO version gets a mention.

[HighlandDougie]

Deafening silence this morning. Good, well-balanced programme (as one would expect from David Fanning) where he made his points well and was, by and large, scrupulously fair in his illustrations. No great suprise with his recommendation. As he admitted that it was pretty much a tie, that should probably be recommendations. I still think that we await a truly great recording of this symphony (I wish someone would ask Thomas Dausgaard).

[aeolium]

I thought this was another fine BaL, the reviewer not overly fussy but in general seeking to bring out the qualitities of different performances even when not entirely to his taste (and his final choice was not without qualification). He showed how the music could bear very contrasting interpretations and that it could be that a less polished but characterful reading could be preferable to a highly polished one - which was perhaps why he did not in the end go for the Blomstedt SFSO version which he had seemed to favour. And looking at EA's list - and the recordings that David Fanning discussed - it's noticeable that this symphony, and perhaps Nielsen's music generally, has been shunned by the big German orchestras and the Concertgebouw. Anyway, I love it, and the Scandinavian, British and Irish (and a couple of American) orchestras that have committed to performing it over the years have done well. I'll be interested to hear the Schmidt/LSO recording on Monday.

[Beef Oven!]

I missed the programme - can someone say which recording was recommended?

[aeolium]

Ole Schmidt with the LSO (as part of a complete set of the symphonies on Alto at budget price).

[richardfinegold]

I have the earlier Blomstedt set from Copenhagen and have always enjoyed it. In general I find many American orchestras, especially those away from the East Coast, too brass-dominated for my taste and prefer the European sound in orchestral releases. The later Blomstedt set from San Fran has generally been regarded as superseding the Copenhagen cycle but I have not done direct comparisons. I too am looking forward to this comparison; whether it will change my preferences and/or make me buy another cycle or single disc remains to be seen!

How did the two Blomstedt performances compare to each other? I own the Copenhagen set on lp and the SFSO on on CD; perhaps I can dig out the lps, do the vinyl cleaning routine and make my own comparisons...

[aeolium]

How did the two Blomstedt performances compare to each other? I own the Copenhagen set on lp and the SFSO on on CD; perhaps I can dig out the lps, do the vinyl cleaning routine and make my own comparisons...

IIRC David Fanning did not play any extracts from the earlier Blomstedt recording though I think mentioned it with some praise. I have that set and haven't felt any strong inclination to get the SFSO one as I'm quite satisfied with the DRSO version.

[edashtav]

I suppose I was hoping that the Blomstedt would win. I first heard the symphony live in King George's Hall Blackburn in the early 70s with Blomstedt and his DRSO during a tour of Britain. A great performance made magnificent by the wonderful acoustics of Blackburn's under-used concert venue. To refer to another thread, that performance remains imprinted on my brain and is my touchstone. Ole Schmidt was a worthy winner - less classical in appproach than Blomstedt, the rumbustious freedom that Schmidt allowed in the finale was very jolly and uplifting. David Fanning's analysis was thoughtful and helpful, I thought.

[LeMartinPecheur]

A nice cheap BaL as I have the Schmidt on LP and the Decca Blomstedt on CD...

Which was his wild card (dark horse?) that nearly made it to the line? IIRC it was a Russian-sounding conductor.

[Beef Oven!]

Ole Schmidt with the LSO (as part of a complete set of the symphonies on Alto at budget price).

Thanks, aeolium

[aeolium]

Which was his wild card (dark horse?) that nearly made it to the line? IIRC it was a Russian-sounding conductor.

It might have been the Myung-Wun Chung/Gothenburg SO version which DF liked very much though felt the Andante Malincolico was taken too slowly. I'm pretty sure it wasn't the Rozhdestvensky.

[HighlandDougie]

It was

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Snefrid-European-Symfoni-Orkestra-Nielsen/dp/B000025RFD/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1397928450&sr=1-1&keywords=nielsen+symphony+no+2+serov

The Chung slow movement, while beautifully played and recorded, does rather go on.