The competition for
Nielsen symphony cycles has become positively
murderous with all the cycles ever recorded
still in the catalogue. Gone are the
days when two series held sway: Ole
Schmidt's for Unicorn and Herbert Blomstedt's
Danish Radio six+ for EMI Classics.
Of a slightly older vintage but not
to be dismissed is the Bernstein/Ormandy
on Sony. I love Ormandy's way with the
enigmatic Sixth and the Bernstein recordings
are full of character if dramatically
exaggerated in the Third. For my money
- and yours - the super-bargain Regis
set, which is the current vehicle for
the Ole Schmidt, is a best-buy, all
things considered. A more mainstream
choice would be Blomstedt's second cycle
(San Francisco) for Decca. Spread on
a rather more profligate basis there
is Douglas Bostock's Liverpool recordings
on ClassicO; a bit of a sleeper that
one and also carrying the advantage
of using editions based on the latest
Nielsen scholarship. Another personal
favourite is the recording on Da Capo
in which Michael Schønwandt conducts
the Danish Radio orchestra. Be warned
though, the Da Capo set has been given
a drubbing in some critical quarters.
That brings us back to the present set
which stands cheek by jowl with the
Chandos box it was originally designed
to replace - Bryden Thomson's set recorded
in the 1980s. I am in some difficulty
here as I have not heard that set but
most critics rate it as good.
Rozhdestvensky's Nielsen,
or at least his Nielsen in the period
1992-94, tends towards the long steady
stride. Playing times are only part
of the picture but his timings are quite
lengthy. You may well prefer your
Nielsen this way - weighty and epic.
If so, look no further.
In my view, however,
this languorous approach places a real
strain on Nielsen’s structure and mood.
In none of these works is the strain
felt more acutely than in the First
Symphony where punctuation and emphasis
positively lumbers; where is the exultation?
The Fifth Symphony, while
it has some undeniably affirmative and
exciting characterisation, begins to
meander when it shouldn't. The other
symphonies can suffer with much the
same malady. There are some lovely compensations
though including the lambent pastoral
music of the Fourth Symphony.
The cheekiness of the little marches
and Varèse-like siren wails in
the Tema con variazioni of the
Sixth are delightful. Rozhdestvensky
is good at this music which in its kaleidoscopic
microcosm uncannily looks forward to
the demented clockwork patter of Shostakovich's
Fifteenth Symphony. The Second Symphony,
in its first movement, is nowhere
near collerico enough yet the
lullingly unhurried allegro commodo
works well even if the Andante malincolico
drags. The final pages are decidedly
sterterous. The prolonged andante
pastorale of Espansiva
is almost Delian in its progress. The
voices are not given undue prominence
being allowed to contribute as analogues
of orchestral instruments rather than
as soloists. In the finale at 2.43 Rozhdestvensky
fully realises the Rimskian writing
I have noticed many times before.
The other major attribute
of this cycle is the stunning recording
quality. What a fine hall the Stockholm
Concert Hall must be. It is of comparable
excellence to the Concert Hall of Slovak
Radio which made such an impression
on me when reviewing the Marco Polo
Moyzes series. While not quite as good
as the results secured by the Bis engineers
for Myung-Whun Chung's symphonies 1-3
and 5 these discs project a very alluring
sound lacking neither in smooth refinement
nor in raging impact. The gripping side
drum part in the Fifth Symphony is right
in your face. The other aspect is that
inevitably, at this more extended pace,
parts of the writing that previously
faded into the background come to the
surface. It is rather like a slow motion
dissection of the score. Certainly you
will learn more about the score, its
veins, arteries and musculature.
The set follows the
packaging pattern set by the Naxos White
Box series five years ago with three
CDs each in its own sleeve. There is
a decent booklet with notes by Robert
Layton no less. All are accommodated
in a slightly oversized box.
Ultimately this is
perhaps too much of a good thing and
there are misfires here. The recording
quality and Rozhdestvensky's ear for
detail make for sometimes surprisingly
pleasing listening. Not to be so easily
dismissed but not a library choice either;
for that I would still recommend Ole
Schmidt on Regis.
Rob Barnett
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra/Gennady
Rozhdestvensky 
