Prom 46: Danish National SO (20.08.15)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

19:30
Royal Albert Hall

Violinist Nikolaj Znaider, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Fabio Luisi, live at the BBC Proms, in music by Brahms and Nielsen

Live from the Royal Albert Hall, London
Presented by Ian Skelly

Nielsen: Overture 'Helios'
Brahms: Violin Concerto in D major
Nielsen: Three Motets
Nielsen: Hymnus amoris
Nielsen: Symphony No. 2, 'The Four Temperaments'


Nikolaj Znaider (violin)
Anna Lucia Richter (soprano)
David Danholt (tenor)
Choristers of Winchester Cathedral
Danish National Concert Choir
Danish National Symphony Orchestra
Fabio Luisi (conductor)

The BBC Proms celebration of Nielsen's 150th anniversary continues, with a performance of the Second Symphony by his compatriots from the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. Subtitled 'The Four Temperaments', the symphony is an arc of contrasting moods and textures - the 'Temperaments' of the subtitle are the four 'Humours' of Greco-Roman medicine; the building blocks of emotional and physical well-being: Choleric, Phlegmatic, Melancholic and Sanguine.
Nielsen's choral works are less often performed. Tonight's Prom offers the chance to experience the luminescent beauty of Hymnus amoris, inspired by a Titian painting, and the Three Motets that pay homage to Renaissance polyphony.
And in the concert's first half, Danish-Israeli violinist Nikolaj Znaider performs the ever-popular Brahms Violin Concerto, with its warmly romantic central movement and dizzying, gypsy dance-inspired finale.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

A Nielsenfeste, but having a Brahms concerto to provide contrast would seem to be a good thing.

[jayne lee wilson]

I'm afraid this sort of programming really annoys me - what a loss of nerve.

The very familiar Brahms concerto, sprawling lazily across the sequence, is hardly brief and seems only there to bring the punters in. The still under-appreciated Nielsen Violin Concerto would have fitted perfectly in the same place, jauntily tuneful & rhythmical as it is with some moments of great beauty.
What makes it worse is that Znaider's live recording of the Nielsen appeared just a few months ago (Da Capo, with Gilbert/NYPO) and it's outstanding!

So, an extended interval after Helios for me.... or Part Two only...

[Tony Halstead]

I do agree with you..
BUT

or Part Two only

No, NO, you simply CAN'T miss Helios overture!
it's one of the greatest 'life-enhancing', 'spirit lifting', feel-good-factor' pieces ever written!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

The choice of the Brahms was, as Jayne says, "a loss of nerve". However, I do think live concerts should endeavour to give the listener some contrast of styles. Clearly this is not possible with works of 2 hour duration, but in this case. . .

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

No, NO, you simply CAN'T miss Helios overture!

Naughty Tony. Read Jayne's post again.

[Tony Halstead]

Not sure I understand, EA.. Jayne wrote

So, an extended interval after Helios for me.... or Part Two only...

I understood this to be 'either/or' so it was her 2nd plan ( Part Two only) that I was trying to discourage.

[jayne lee wilson]

OK, OK! ...Haven't heard the Helios in a while so I'll do that - promise! Just as a sighting shot for the Four Temperaments you understand... Which I hope has colour and character beyond mere symphonism this time.

[Darkbloom]

I'm still waiting for people to cotton on to the fact that Nielsen is a wonderful composer who should be performed more often. I think his music is quite difficult to perform well (Bernstein recorded a good Third but an indifferent Fourth, for example), so perhaps that is part of the reason for the relative neglect he suffers from. He is one of those composers who is truly 'life-enhancing' and the Four Temperaments is a good introduction to his work. Why we can find room for a Sibelius cycle and not one for Nielsen is a mystery, and an opportunity missed. If someone asked me what sort of composer he most resembled I would probably plump for Haydn - not for the way they sound but for the good-humour and earthy wisdom that their best works typify. There aren't many composers you could call 'loveable' but I think Nielsen is one of those.

[jayne lee wilson]

Yeah, truly disappointing Proms from the Nielsonian point of view... but with 3 new hi-res cycles completed this year, all of sonic beauty & interpretative interest to say the least, we Happy Few can't growl too much...

[Sir Velo]

I'm still waiting for people to cotton on to the fact that Nielsen is a wonderful composer who should be performed more often. I think his music is quite difficult to perform well (Bernstein recorded a good Third but an indifferent Fourth, for example), so perhaps that is part of the reason for the relative neglect he suffers from. He is one of those composers who is truly 'life-enhancing' and the Four Temperaments is a good introduction to his work. Why we can find room for a Sibelius cycle and not one for Nielsen is a mystery, and an opportunity missed. If someone asked me what sort of composer he most resembled I would probably plump for Haydn - not for the way they sound but for the good-humour and earthy wisdom that their best works typify. There aren't many composers you could call 'loveable' but I think Nielsen is one of those.

The BBC may well counter by saying they have recently broadcast live performances of the entire cycle, not that that would gainsay the point you so eloquently put. Another listener on this forum described his music as akin to being shouted at, so opinions are definitely divided. Me? Well, since you ask, 4 and 5 are undoubted masterpieces; 2 and 3 are near masterpieces; one is a work of promise; while six is enigmatic, keeping its secrets tight and only releasing them piecemeal on repeated listening.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Not sure I understand, EA.. Jayne wrote

I understood this to be 'either/or' so it was her 2nd plan ( Part Two only) that I was trying to discourage.

OK. I follow you now.

[Darkbloom]

0. 4 and 5 are undoubted masterpieces; 2 and 3 are near masterpieces; one is a work of promise; while six is enigmatic, keeping its secrets tight and only releasing them piecemeal on repeated listening.

I used to think the Fourth was one of those works that always works in performance, but have come round to the opposite view. All the bravura moments like the warring timps don't always come off in the hands of less sensitive musicians and it can have an air of routine about it. I find the first movement of the Third as close to the 'essential Nielsen' as you can get, but I know what you mean about a 'near masterpiece. Perhaps, once again, it needs the right performance to unlock it for us. I ought to listen to some of the early recordings by Danish conductors, they are supposed to very good, but I can't recall their names right now. Tuxen?

[Sir Velo]

I used to think the Fourth was one of those works that always works in performance, but have come round to the opposite view. All the bravura moments like the warring timps don't always come off in the hands of less sensitive musicians and it can have an air of routine about it. I find the first movement of the Third as close to the 'essential Nielsen' as you can get, but I know what you mean about a 'near masterpiece. Perhaps, once again, it needs the right performance to unlock it for us. I ought to listen to some of the early recordings by Danish conductors, they are supposed to very good, but I can't recall their names right now. Tuxen?

There's ol' Ole Schmidt for starters. Blomstedt's earlier Danish RSO cycle; Thomas Jensen and Erik Tuxen. I favour the later Blomstedt cycle, but am prepared to accept that others have unlocked No 3 better than he.

[Darkbloom]

There's ol' Ole Schmidt for starters. Blomstedt's earlier Danish RSO cycle; Thomas Jensen and Erik Tuxen. I favour the later Blomstedt cycle, but am prepared to accept that others have unlocked No 3 better than he.

Blomstedt sounds more relaxed with Danish RSO and I prefer it, on the whole, to the other version. It's been a while since I have heard it, but I recall being a bit disappointed by the San Francisco brass at times, although he gives the Fourth its due in terms of excitement. The Third was driven far too hard for my taste, especially in the first movement, where I prefer it to sound more spacious, but I'm sure others have differing views. There is a Salonen cycle out there (with the Swedish RSO, I think?) that didn't strike me as all that convincing - I don't think it was quite his thing, or perhaps it was recorded too early in his career. I must give the Schmidt another airing, it's one that I should be more familiar with. I don't know what you made of the Colin Davis recordings, but the ones I heard sounded like he was ticking off composers he hadn't done, before it was too late, rather than being a particular enthusiasm of his. I haven't got round to the Karajan Fourth either for that same reason.