Customer Reviews

Nielsen: "Maskarade" Overture, Clarinet Concerto op.57, Symphony no.3 op.27

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This CD is mindblowing. Every minute of every piece -- the clarinet concerto, maskarade overture, and 3rd symphony -- is brilliantly executed, but what comes across the most is just Nielsen's sheer genius and the consistently inspired level of his writing. I am gradually coming to the conclusion that this was the greatest composer of symphonies after Beethoven. Above all he speeds back up the process of "symphonic thought", which had slowed down remarkably after the classics. He has the hair-raising power of Bruckner, he thinks big and draws you in like Mahler, he is 100% more modern and more positive than either of these composers, and actually I think may have more invention. There is nothing remotely academic about his music yet it has *easily* as great a grasp of counterpoint as anybody's. None of his symphonies even seem to sound remotely similar. I have heard quite a few interpretations and I can recommend, say, Kubelik's Nielsen 5th, but I think the Chung versions may actually be the best. Parts of the first movement of the 3rd symphony (on this disk) sound like Shostakovich, and it was written in 1910. Fantastic.

I've been listening to Nielsen for a number of years but only recently heard this CD. It's the best performance of the 3rd I've ever heard--powerful outer movements and a soaring, lyrical Pastorale unmatched by almost anyone else. Chung is a natural in this music and the orchestra and recording are great. Highly recommended.