Nielsen: Orchestral Works (CD Review)

by Ryan Ross

Flute Concerto; Symphony No. 3, Op. 27 (“Sinfonia espansiva”); Pan og Syrinx (“Pan and Syrinx”), Op. 49. Adam Walker, flute; Edward Gardner, conductor; Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. Chandos CHSA 5312

This is the second entry in Chandos’s new Nielsen orchestral music cycle by conductor Edward Gardner and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. I am a big fan of the first, which came out last year and features terrific performances of the Fourth Symphony (“The Inextinguishable”) and the Violin Concerto (with violinist James Ehnes). Happily, this new recording maintains its predecessor’s excellence. Gardner and the BPO bring their customary energy to the Third Symphony (“Sinfonia espansiva”), the tone poem Pan and Syrinx, and the Flute Concerto, with flutist Adam Walker doing stellar work in the soloist role. In a recent review of another Nielsen symphony cycle (which you can read here,) I pleaded for performers who properly understand this music. I don’t know how the forthcoming recordings in this Chandos series will turn out, but at two discs in I’m comfortable saying that my wish has been granted. 

First served is Pan and Syrinx, which Nielsen dubbed a “Nature Scene for Orchestra.” He was inspired by the corresponding episode depicted in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, where the nymph Syrinx ends up becoming the reeds of Pan’s famous pipes. The work clocks in at under 9 minutes but is quite immersive. It makes one wish that Nielsen had lavished as much attention on the tone poem genre as did his fellow great Nordic composer Jean Sibelius. The woodwinds do heavy duty work, but members of the BPO are every bit up to the challenge. The listener gets treated to a suitably lush, vivid atmosphere. 

 

Next comes the Flute Concerto, one of my favorite scores by Nielsen. Like the Fifth Symphony completed not more than five years earlier, it comprises an eventful two movements. Walker and Gardner adopt a nice, crisp tempo to start things off. Middleground voices are extremely important in this music, and supporting woodwinds (especially a clarinet that earns their paycheck throughout) sound sharp and well balanced with the soloist and strings. The structure of the first movement is unique. I have written elsewhere about the importance of what I call the “Simple Original” theme, which is foreshadowed before it appears in full at Rehearsal E. Walker leads this tune beautifully, with a suitably Arcadian feeling. When the main theme comes back in tutti at the following rehearsal, Gardner and the BPO don’t disappoint in their liveliness. 

The second movement similarly tests the performers’ ability convincingly to assume multiple character states in turn. The performers meet this challenge richly, even managing to re-color the main rondo theme slightly with every reappearance. The dynamic gradations are splendid everywhere, but particularly in the Tempo di Marcia. If I have one criticism, it’s that the trombone could have better brought out the “Simple Original” theme as it jovially waves farewell from the background at the work’s conclusion. But this is a quibble set against an overall distinguished interpretation.

 

Not long ago, I gave Fabio Luisi a hard time here at Classical Candor for leading Nielsen’s Third Symphony in a syrupy and overly Romantic manner in his recent cycle with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. If my readers were waiting for an exemplary new alternative, they have it right here. Gardner’s account is everything Luisi’s bloated one isn’t: energetic, balanced, and gorgeously clear. I hopped up and down excitedly with the introductory chords. I could tell right away that the tempo would be brisk and the rhythms sharp. This is colorful, surging music, and the listener gets treated to every such shade in full. The phrasing and dynamics are likewise rendered with great care, but not in a micro-managed way that detracts from the experience. The first movement’s middle climax here is the best since Bernstein’s with the Royal Danish Orchestra (Sony SMK 47598). You can hear everything! 

For the most part the rest of the performance lives up to the opening. I thought the Arcadian second movement could be a bit slower, but at 9:08 it is within a sliver of Herbert Blomstedt and the San Francisco Symphony (London 430 280-2), which is another first-rate outing. The wordless vocalists are mostly very good, though soprano Lina Johnson sometimes sounds a bit strained in her high pitches. Movement 3 is correspondingly quick, with very precise playing. For me, a big test there is how the orchestra delivers the gentle lyrical theme at Rehearsal 13. This test is soundly passed. A fast, punchy finale properly rounds things out. While I could use a bit more pastoral magic following the a tempo at Rehearsal 9, the builds and climaxes throughout are appreciably robust. The peroration is satisfying lusty. 

 

I hope this Chandos series is getting the attention it deserves. We are two discs in, and every interpretation so far is a winner. It is gratifying to see a growing Nielsen recording catalogue, with the composer apparently beginning to receive the respect due to him as an important and highly individual twentieth-century symphonist. The tone poem and concerto in this installment can be recommended with the best available options. And while Bernstein and the RDO remain my top choice for the Sinfonia espaniva, Gardner and the BPO’s entry here amply merits investment. I can’t wait to hear what they serve up next!