Nielsen: String Quartets Vol. 1 - Quartet, Op. 14 & Quartet, Op. 44

Carl Nielsen (Composer), Oslo String Quartet (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Oslo String Quartet
• Composer: Carl Nielsen
• Audio CD (May 11, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Naxos
• ASIN: B00000IMFU
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #271,056 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must For Nielsen Lovers!, January 25, 2004

By 

Paul Rossi "Paul Rossi" (Walla Walla, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nielsen: String Quartets Vol. 1 - Quartet, Op. 14 & Quartet, Op. 44 (Audio CD)

Carl Nielsen was, and still is, best known for his six symphonies. Great works that the symphonies are, Nielsen wrote prolifically in almost every genre, his Wind Quintet the best known of his chamber works. However, I highly recommend purchasing both the Nielsen String Quartet CD's

These two great CD's feature the young, up-and-coming Oslo String Quartet. They play wonderfully together, and they have a thorough mastery of their instruments, the string quartet idiom, and, most importantly in this case, the Nielsen String Quartets. They play wonderfully in tune and create music cooperatively very well. The Oslo String Quartet uses a wide range of dynamics in bringing out Nielsen's music. It is a wonder that these works are not better known and more often heard!

If you are familiar with Carl Nielsen's music and style, you should know what to expect: strange, winding, and engaging melodies, rhythmic complexities, optimistic simplicity, sad mourning, and frequent chordal modulations.

These CD's are real winners (and so are Naxos and the members of the Oslo String Quartet) for making such excellent and affordable renditions of these works available to the public. You will pay two or three times this if you look to other CD labels, and you may not get a better quality set of performances, either!! I highly recommend these two CD's of Carl Nielsen's string quartets.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seeking the Nielsen of the Symphonies, August 24, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Nielsen: String Quartets Vol. 1 - Quartet, Op. 14 & Quartet, Op. 44 (Audio CD)

Being a lover of Nielsen's symphonies and other orchestral works, I was a little put off initially at not finding the composer I know in these chamber works. The quartets aren't pieces at the core of the repertoire (and in this country not even at the fringes), but as with any good music new to one, repeated hearings bring out more and more of the idiom of the composer in question. So I've at last found the Nielsen of the symphonies in these quartets. Interestingly, while the Op. 14 (1899) understandably reminds me of Nielsen's first three symphonies, Op. 44 (1906, revised in 1919) reminds me not of the wartime symphonies but of Symphony No. 6, written in the mid 20s. It has the gentle pastoral quality of this work with much of the quiet humor as well. Perhaps it also shares some of these qualities with the lovely, pastoral Symphony No. 3 (1911), though that symphony has as well the energy and elan of the first five symphonies, especially 4 and 5, with their life-asserting finales. Op. 44 is a much less demonstrative work and takes a bit longer to grow on one. In fact, while Nielsen said of the work that it represents his true grasp of string quartet writing, and despite the fact that it is beautifully and graciously written for the forces involved, I prefer the earlier quartet. It has a stirring Allegro con brio first movement that reminds me of the Symphony No. 2's energetic first movement and a surprising scherzo in which the fast music comes in the trio. (Shades of Berwald, who sometimes encapsulates his scherzos within slow movements?) But both works are genuine Nielsen, witty and wonderfully melodic, both with distinguished slow movements of almost religious intensity. The Olso quartet, founded 1991, is made up of members who are busy in various Scandanavian orchestras but who are obviously seasoned chamber players as well and certainly play gorgeously together. Their playing in the Op. 44--where the lines often intertwine, requiring superb ensemble playing--is everything one could ask. They produce a very fresh, young sound in music that will be fresh to most listeners. Naxos's engineering is fine as well. Recommended for Nielsen lovers and for those seeking rewarding new chamber-musical paths to explore.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Chamber Music Nielsen, December 15, 2009

By 

Dr. Debra Jan Bibel "World Music Explorer" (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nielsen: String Quartets Vol. 1 - Quartet, Op. 14 & Quartet, Op. 44 (Audio CD)

'Tis a pity that these quartets (Volume 1 and 2, Naxos) of Neilsen are not included in the repertoire of the many quartets that frequent the Bay Area. They are certainly romantic and lyrical and complex of interplay and rhythm as the better known romantic composers. Indeed, while I have seen all of Neilsen's symphonies and his violin concerto performed, I, like many other reviewers, had no knowledge of these quartets until Amazon's recommendation algorithm led me to them. Although the earlier quartets lack the great tension or theme that engages us fully, Op. 44 is rich in mood (e.g., the Adagio con sentimento religioso) and symphonic in sweep. It is mature and well-developed, acknowledged by Neilsen himself, and truly delightful. I personally find Neilsen's first quartets a parade of musical statements, each movement interesting but not satisfying in the whole. Op. 13, with its thematic recapitulation, does attempt to string the units together. The Oslo Quartet (and their sound engineers) give us very worthy albums. Budget priced, these recodings should be included in your classical collection, but if you desire to purchase only one CD, then select this Volume 1.