Half a bar of Carl Nielsen and you knowit’s him; a characteristic of great composersdown the ages, to be sure, but onepeculiarly concentrated around nationalistcomposers of the late 19th and early 20thcenturies. Nationalist, not necessarilythrough any political affiliation but becausethey sought to renew both the standardmusical forms and genres, and their owncountry’s culture, with bold and freshattempts to marry the two. So successfulwas Nielsen at this (like Sibelius in Finland),indeed, that for decades afterwards heseemed to cast a shadow over those whocame after.The symphonies lie at the centre ofNielsen’s achievement. They develop as hedid, from exuberant Romanticism (No.1),through rangy melodies and ‘visionary’slow movements (Nos. 2 and 3), to anunquenchable embrace of the heroicstruggle that places Man at the centre ofhis world (Nos. 4 and 5), finally to rest in aquizzical re-examination of all that we holdworthwhile in mind and music (No.6, the‘Sinfonia semplice’: never was a symphonymore ironically named.)Each symphony sets off on its own excitingjourney, and the demands Nielsen makeson his participants are extreme; he wasa fine violinist himself, and he used hisextensive knowledge to turn stringplayers inside out with ferocious fugues andprecipitous runs. Many great orchestrashave tackled this music, and some haveended up making it into little more thanconcertos for orchestra in all but name.Not however, this apparently less glitteringensemble. David Hurwitz, famously hardto please, is unequivocal in his ClassicsToday review: ‘Theodore Kuchar leadswhat is without question the most excitingcomplete Nielsen symphony cycle available,making this the set to get for Nielsennewcomers.’

• Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 1-6
• Nielsen: Symphony No. 1 in G minor, Op. 7 (FS16)
• Nielsen: Symphony No. 2, Op. 16 (FS29) 'The Four temperaments'
• Nielsen: Symphony No. 3, Op. 27 (FS60) 'Sinfonia espansiva'
• Nielsen: Symphony No. 4, Op. 29 (FS76) 'The Inextinguishable'
• Nielsen: Symphony No. 5, Op. 50 (FS97)
• Nielsen: Symphony No. 6, (FS116) 'Sinfonia semplice'

OTHER INFORMATION:

• Recorded in 2005, Concert Hall, Ostrava,Czech Republic.• Includes booklet notes.

TRACK LIST

• Symphony No. 1 in G minor Op. 7• Symphony No. 2 Op. 16 “The Four Temperaments”• Symphony No. 3 Op. 27 “Sinfonia espansiva”• Symphony No. 4 Op. 29 “The Inextinguishable”• Symphony No. 5 Op. 50• Symphony No. 6 “Sinfonia semplice”