BaL 19.12.15 - Nielsen: Symphony no. 6

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

0930 Building a Library
Stephen Johnson surveys recordings of Nielsen's Symphony No.6, his "Sinfonia semplice", and makes a personal recommendation. The composer himself thought the symphony more 'amiable and smooth' than his others, but because it has a different, more simple structure than his previous symphonic works (hence the subtitle), it was not terribly well received at the premiere and sadly has remained the least performed of his symphonies.

Available versions:

Royal Danish Orchestra, Paavo Berglund
Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Herbert Blomstedt
San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Herbert Blomstedt
Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Dausgaard
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Douglas Bostock (download)
London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis
New York Philharmonic, Alan Gilbert
Janácek Philharmonic Orchestra, Theodore Kuchar
Göteborgs Symfoniker, Neeme Järvi
Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Paavo Järvi
The Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Jensen
Janácek Philharmonic Orchestra, Theodore Kuchar (download)
Ireland National Symphony Orchestra, Adrian Leaper (download)
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Tor Mann
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sakari Oramo
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Gennady Rozhdestvensky
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen (download)
London Symphony Orchestra, Ole Schmidt
Danish National Symphony Orchestra / DR, Michael Schønwandt (DVD)
Danish National Symphony Orchestra / DR, Michael Schønwandt (download)
BBC Philharmonic, John Storgårds
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Osmo Vänskä

[Roehre]

Only 6 recordings without a Scandinavian connection

[kea]

My favourite of the six for quite some time, actually. With this and the two wind concerti I find myself always wondering where Nielsen would have ended up in 1940—the relationship of those three to the rest of his work is similar to that of late Beethoven to middle-period.

(I have Schmidt, Blomstedt-Decca, Schønwandt-Dacapo and Oramo—the other two conductors contributing Nielsen symphonies to my collection, Chung and Bernstein, didn't record it.)

[richardfinegold]

I thought the Gilbert as the best of his otherwise tepid cycle. Otherwise the two Blomstedts and a Horenstein on YouTube are my choices.

[Tevot]

It is a beautiful, mordant and haunting symphony isn't it? I remember the Ole Schmidt recording fondly. I'm surprised that Chung didn't record it. I wonder why?

[HighlandDougie]

Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Dausgaard

I wish! Unless there is a recording somewhere I don't know about (and I'd be delighted if that were the case), I suspect that Danacord's repackaging of the Schønwandt cycles with Dausgaard's single Nielsen disc may have caused some confusion as to who conducts what. I'm sorry - for nostalgia's sake - that the Siegfried Landau/Westchester Symphony Orchestra recording on Vox/Turnabout seems never to have made it to CD but it wouldn't really compete with the likes of Gilbert and especially Oramo.

[Roehre]

... I'm sorry - for nostalgia's sake - that the Siegfried Landau/Westchester Symphony Orchestra recording on Vox/Turnabout seems never to have made it to CD ....

The LP through which I got acquainted with the work, lent to someone, never returned
That was quite a time before Blomstedt/EMI appeared, the cycle which I still cherish.

[seabright]

Stokowski conducted the Nielsen 6th just once in his career, for a 1965 BBC Maida Vale broadcast with the New Philharmonia. During the interval, Deryck Cooke asked him what he thought of the work and Stokowski freely admitted he didn't understand it. Even Cooke himself said it was "a particular strange symphony," as can be heard in their interview in this You Tube upload ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wr1E11dIoCQ

The Nielsen performance was issued on a BBC Legends CD and can still be obtained via Amazon, at a starting price of £3.23, despite it being "unavailable" ...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stokowski-conducts-Gabrieli-Tippett-Nielsen/dp/B000056P0P

[verismissimo]

It is a beautiful, mordant and haunting symphony isn't it? I remember the Ole Schmidt recording fondly...

I've only ever had the Schmidt on an ancient Unicorn LP. Photo of conductor on the back cover lowering at us. He must have been a scary prospect to play for...

[Bryn]

Stokowski conducted the Nielsen 6th just once in his career, for a 1965 BBC Maida Vale broadcast with the New Philharmonia. ... The Nielsen performance was issued on a BBC Legends CD and can still be obtained via Amazon, at a starting price of £3.23, despite it being "unavailable" ...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stokowski-co.../dp/B000056P0P

Not any more, it's not (the very low starter price, that is). My fault.

What a shame. It appears that Hans Abrahamsen's reduced instrumentation arrangement has not been recorded commercially. I rather liked it when the BBCSSO/Manze played it earlier this year.

[seabright]

Not any more, it's not (the very low starter price, that is). My fault.

What exactly is the definition of "unavailable"? We're constantly being entreated by the BBC to visit their website, which must mean they think we all have computers and know how to surf the internet. Yet when a record is listed as being "unavailable" it usually only takes a few seconds of Googling to find it on Amazon or Ebay or on individual record dealers' websites either here or abroad. That applies to 78s and LPs too, should there be collectors who still wish to buy them. The Stokowski Nielsen 6th is also readily "available" on You Tube and can be downloaded from there as well, now that the Amazon starting price is £10.20, thanks to Bryn! ...

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

[Roehre]

...

What a shame. It appears that Hans Abrahamsen's reduced instrumentation arrangement has not been recorded commercially. I rather liked it when the BBCSSO/Manze played it earlier this year.

As I did

[BBMmk2]

I have Blomstedt's Decca, and Storgards and Neeme Jarvi's(off the top[ of my head)) All part of the Northern Light's Festival.

[verismissimo]

What a strange, enigmatic work this is. Perhaps less so after Saturday morning... Though I do find Stephen Johnson's style a bit hard to take. He does tend to be addressing a crowd rather than managing to speak to us as individuals. Or is that just me?

[gurnemanz]

What a strange, enigmatic work this is. Perhaps less so after Saturday morning... Though I do find Stephen Johnson's style a bit hard to take. He does tend to be addressing a crowd rather than managing to speak to us as individ;uals. Or is that just me?

... maybe following the example of Gladstone of whom Queen Victoria reportedly said: He speaks to me as if I were a public meeting.

Whilst here, I notice no one has mentioned the well-regarded Theodore Kuchar set yet, which is reasonably priced on Brilliant. It's my only version so I can't make an informed recommendation but it sounds very good to me, well played by the Janácek Philharmonic Orchestra, in a modern recording with a beautifully clear acoustic and finely balanced sound.