1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Most satisfying overall, August 24, 2011
This review is from: Nielsen: Symphonies 1,2,3&6 - L.S.O/Ole Schmidt (Audio CD)
Of all the Nielsen cycles, this has to be the most satisfying overall. Despite being original analog recordings of the 1970s, the sound is still excellent. The recording here of Symphony No. 6 in particular is my favorite. Most conductors worry too much about offending lovers of the composers Nielsen pokes fun of (Stravinsky and Schoenberg) in the Humoreske Movement, leaving me disappointed when I can barely hear the sarcastic glissando (or "yawp" of you prefer) on the trombone. I know, it's only marked mf or something close to that in the score, but Nielsen was just being bashful here. It needs to be played fff > mf as it is here.
The other movements of the work are every bit as much a parody of early 20th century music trends as the Humoreske, but less obviously so. Still, in my view, this "Simple Symphony" of Carl Nielsen (about which commentator Richard Freed once remarked there is nothing simple) is perhaps the composer's greatest symphonic masterpiece, even surpassing the prior two. Compare it with the 6th Symphony of that other Scandanavian symphonist of the same era (Won't mention his name but his initials are JS) and it's not even a contest.
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