| Title: | Please look for existing notes before starting new topics. |
| Moderator: | SMURF::BINDER |
| Created: | Wed Jun 15 1988 |
| Last Modified: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 1038 |
| Total number of notes: | 11461 |
Carl Nielsen, 1865-1931
The principal post-Romantic Danish composer, Carl Nielsen, was born in
1865, the son of a painter and village musician. Childhood experience
as an amateur performer led to subsidised study at the Copenhagen
Conservatory and a long career during which he developed his own
personal style of composition, in particular in a series of important
symphonies.
Nielsen wrote six symphonies, distinguished by the titles given them as
well as in numbering. Of these the best known are Symphony No. 2, The
Four Temperaments, and Symphony No. 4, The Inextinguishable. Symphony
No. 5, written after the 1914-18 war, represents, in its two movements,
the composer's struggle to develop new and stronger rhythms and more
advanced harmony. His concertos for clarinet, for flute and for violin
have also found a place, as has the overture taken from the opera
Maskarade.
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I spent many hours practicing his highly technical clarinet concerto
and listening to a recording of Stanley Drucker and the NY Philharmonic.
Incredible creation.
Are there any other Nielsen fans out there ?
| T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1038.1 | one vote for Nielsen | STAR::ABIS | I come in peace | Mon May 05 1997 12:32 | 8 |
Yep, Nielsen is on my list or worthy composers. I was recently a guest lecturer in Music Appreciation for my daughter's Brownie Troop. In my set of musical excerpts, I had the last 3 or so minutes of the first movement of Nielsen's 5th. I equated the raucous snare drum solo to an obnoxious little brother and the Brownies got a kick out of it. Eric | |||||
| 1038.2 | HELIX::CLARK | Mon May 05 1997 18:35 | 2 | ||
I'm familiar with the 5th symphony, which I (probably egocentrically) assumed was the best known... Like it a lot. - Jay | |||||
| 1038.3 | SMURF::BINDER | Errabit quicquid errare potest. | Wed May 07 1997 20:27 | 1 | |
Jay, listen to the 4th. Incredibly moving. | |||||
| 1038.4 | recommendation for 4 & 5 | COOKIE::MUNNS | dave | Mon May 12 1997 18:05 | 7 |
I found an excellent recording of both the 4th & 5th symphonies,
performed by the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, conducted
by Adrian Leaper. It's another one of those NAXOS CD's, 8.550743.
The playing is superb and the engineering is well done with a very
natural balance among all instruments. I wish all CD's were recorded
this well.
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| 1038.5 | Music that speaks clearly | COOKIE::MUNNS | dave | Fri May 16 1997 16:16 | 8 |
Actually that obnoxious snare drum is heard for about 80 seconds in the
2nd movement of the 5th symphony, starting about 4'20" from the end. I
love the way Nielsen resolves the drum - orchestra argument, with a strong
Major chord. A humble, obedient, and respectful snare drum helps finish
the movement.
The composer orchestrates emotions in a very convincing manner.
Tension, anguish, insanity, anger, hope, joy - they are all there.
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