Nielsen: Symphony No. 1 in G minor, Op. 7 (FS16)

“From the outset of the opening movement’s allegro orgoglioso (proud), the tension never flags...the LSO’s principal trombone relish[es] his derisive “yawns”...With the dazzling final theme and variations, Nielsen grapples with the pessimistic zeitgeist and the inevitability of death, but his spirit ultimately triumphs — as do Davis and the LSO.” Sunday Times, 12th January 2012

“Colin Davis has come late to Carl Nielsen. But his live recordings of the Dane’s symphonies are likely to be as definitive as his earlier discs of Sibelius and Berlioz...Superb performances all round.” The Times, 21st January 2012 *****

“In Davis’s hands the First Symphony is a more substantial work than its reputation would suggest: his performance reveals its Beethovenian dynamism...The Sixth is a superficially jocular work, but thanks to the LSO’s virtuoso handling of its jabs, scowls and woodwind figurations, it emerges as a set of enigmatic variations” Financial Times, 18th February 2012 ****

“an often probing account of a perenially disconcerting piece [the Sixth], rendered with evident conviction by the London Symphony...[some] may find Davis underselling what is a symphony in constant and unfulfilled transition. The First Symphony (1892), however, is an almost total success.” International Record Review, February 2012

“More fiery and dramatic Nielsen from Sir Colin Davis and the LSO...The First Symphony here is beautifully paced, balancing drive with poetry. The slow movement may be on the broad side but, buoyed up by such musicianship and affection, it can take it...Davis has his finger on the psychological as well as the rhythmic pulse.” Gramophone Magazine, April 2012

“This is the second instalment of [Davis's] Nielsen Symphony series with the LSO, recorded with admirable clarity and carrying no extra-musical sounds apart from an occasional gasp, groan or semi-melodic hum from the conductor - but there are fewer of those than usual.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2012 ****

“The veteran British Sibelian has come late to Nielsen, but his continuing cycle, with the orchestra on its best form, finds him an idiomatic interpreter of the Danish composer’s symphonies.” Sunday Times, 9th December 2012

“Nielsen always nurtured a special affection for his First Symphony – and rightly so, for its language is natural and unaffected. It has great spontaneity of feeling and a Dvorákian warmth and freshness.
Blomstedt's recording is vital, beautifully shaped and generally faithful to both the spirit and the letter of the score. The recording is very fine: the sound has plenty of room to expand, there's a very good relationship between the various sections of the orchestra and a realistic perspective.
The Second and Third are two of Nielsen's most genial symphonies, both of which come from the earliest part of the century, in performances of the very first order.
The Second (1902), inspired by the portrayal of The Four Temperaments (Choleric, Phlegmatic, Melancholic, Sanguine) that he had seen in a country inn, has splendid concentration and fire and, as always, from the right pace stems the right character. Moreover the orchestra sounds inspired, for there's a genuine excitement about its playing. Indeed Blomstedt's accounts are by far the most satisfying available. The Third, Espansiva, is even more personal in utterance than The Four Temperaments, for during the intervening years Nielsen had come much further along the road of self-discovery. His melodic lines are bolder, the musical paragraphs longer and his handling of form more assured. It's a glorious and richly inventive score whose pastoral slow movement includes a part for two wordless voices.
Blomstedt gives us an affirmative, powerful reading and in the slow movement, the soprano produces the required ethereal effect.
The sound is very detailed and full bodied, and in the best traditions of the company. Blomstedt's Espansiva has greater depth than most accounts; the actual sound has that glowing radiance that characterises Nielsen, and the tempo, the underlying current on which this music is borne, is expertly judged – and nowhere better than in the finale.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“an admirable and inexpensive way of collecting Blomstedt's complete cycle of Nielsen's symphonies which is self-recommending. All six performances are among the finest available...To put it briefly, this remains the best all-round modern set of the symphonies, and the bonuses add to its attractions.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“Adrian Leaper makes good sense of everything.” Gramophone Magazine