(Available separately: Symphonies 4
and 5 REGIS RRC 1036; Symphonies
1-3 and 6 REGIS RRC 2046)
I suspect that like
myself, many of my contemporaries have
a great nostalgic affection for this
set of the Nielsen Symphonies which
Regis have reissued at bargain price.
What is more it is in excellent refurbished
sound of an even better quality than
the Bob Auger-engineered original.
Other Nielsen Symphonies
cycles may have appeared since 1973
but for me this one has never been surpassed
for the sheer vitality and intensity
of its readings.
A personal memory
Before I go into the
detail of my review, I hope the editor
will allow me to make a point. The music
of Nielsen was a closed book to me until
I watched a TV thriller serial in the
early 1970s. I cannot recall its title
but I think it starred Alan Badel. I
was overwhelmed by the introductory
music which I learnt after enquiry to
the TV production company was from Nielsen’s
Third Symphony "Sinfonia Espansiva".
And so I became acquainted with the
Ole Schmidt recordings that Unicorn
released probably separately (my memory
does not serve me too well in this context)
as well as in the LP box set that I
repeatedly hired from the local music
library
Then the Musicians
Union adopted a short-sighted ruling
that recorded classical music excerpts
could no longer be used in this manner.
Short-sighted because it seemed to me
that they were "shooting themselves
in the foot" somewhat because musicians
should be worrying about declining audiences
especially amongst the young. Surely
use of recognised classical music in
such contexts is to be welcomed as an
investment in the future, to introduce
great music to such new audiences?
Missing bonus?
The last side of the
last LP in the box set had a bonus which,
alas, Regis have not been able to accommodate
on the 3 CDs that make up this otherwise
splendid reissue set. That bonus was
composer and Nielsen scholar, Dr Robert
Simpson’s insightful commentaries on
each of the six symphonies. (see
footnote)
The Recordings
Lest this review stretch
out uncontrollably, my comments will
be concise. Starting with Nielsen’s
Symphony No. 3 ("Sinfonia Espansiva")
the first of his symphonies to meet
international success and the most likeable
and optimistic of the set, Schmidt opens
with a really arrestingly powerful and
thrusting pattern of As and an
exhilarating D major melody. His Andante
pastorale with its interweaving
wordless voices is quite magical. Schmidt
also realises to the full the youthful
confidence and bold rhythms of First
Symphony with its tug-of-war between
keys. The emotions of the "Four
Temperaments" Symphony No. 2 are
also well expressed: fierce anger in
the opening ‘choleric’ movement contrasting
with the idyllic pastoral mood of the
second, ‘phlegmatic’, movement; the
plaintive ‘melancholic’ third; and the
‘sanguine’ finale as epitomised by a
sighing oboe.
Schmidt’s realisation
of Nielsen’s Fourth Symphony "Inextinguishable"
is tremendously exciting - it is stunning
in its power and awesome violence (one
wonders if his music influenced Bernard
Herrmann?) but sensitively playful,
humorous and tender in its calmer stretches.
The famous frantic timpani explosions
resound across the sound-stage with
devastating effect. The ferocity of
the Fourth continues over into the Fifth
Symphony and Schmidt delivers another
white-hot reading (the lava on the booklet
artwork being very apposite) with conflict
thundering between keys and its vicious
snare drum punctuations. But Schmidt
plumbs emotional depths of fear and
despair in his thoughtful reading of
the Sixth Symphony. Apart from the amusing
lampooning of avant-garde 20th
century music that is the brief Humoreske
movement, this symphony is stormy and
nightmarish with Nielsen’s heart attack
writ frighteningly in music that is
often grotesque and unsettling with
bells heralding - oblivion …?
Footnotes
It is worth reminding
ourselves that the London Symphony Orchestra
reached a peak of perfection in the
1970s. It was during this period that
André Previn conducted the orchestra
in a series of outstanding recordings
including Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony,
Walton’s First Symphony and an acclaimed
cycle of Vaughan Williams symphonies.
Even if you already
have a Nielsen symphonies cycle I do
urge you to invest in this beautifully
refurbished set – the first stereo version
recorded. It is a classic and at Regis’s
bargain price a very real bargain.
Ian Lace
footnote
Regis inform us they did not receive
masters from Ole Schmidt (owner of the
repertoire) which contained the Simpson
talks, which would have been copyright
of his (RS) widow I guess - so they
were not given opportunity to use them.
see also review
by Rob Barnett
London Symphony Orchestra/Ole Schmidt 
