Carl Nielsen: Complete Symphonies 1-6 - London Symphony Orchestra / Ole Schmidt [Box set]

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Carl Nielsen (1865-1931)

Complete Symphonies 1-6

London Symphony Orchestra
Ole Schmidt, conductor

Carl Nielsen: Complete Symphonies 1-6 - London Symphony Orchestra / Ole Schmidt, Music, Carl Nielsen, Ole Schmidt, London Symphony Orchestra

Average customer rating:

A must have

Excellent Complete Set In Stereo

Carl Nielsen: Complete Symphonies 1-6 - London Symphony Orchestra / Ole Schmidt

Manufacturer: Regis Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000V86IW
Release Date: 2003-10-13

Album Description

Carl Nielsen (1865-1931)

Complete Symphonies 1-6

London Symphony Orchestra
Ole Schmidt, conductor

Customer Reviews:

A must have.......2005-02-15

Originally a highly praised vinyl set in the early seventies (1974), these superb takes have now been reincarnated and remastered on CD.

The legendary Nielsen conductor Thomas Jensen was Ole Schmidt's mentor. This set is a legacy of that grand interpretative tradition. But in contrast to the historic performances, these recordings are all in state of the art stereo sound. Further, London Symphony Orchestra was at its very peak at the time of the recording.

Thus it is not to surprise that Schmidt's accounts of Nielsen's masterpieces - the fourth and fifth symphonies - are resolved in tremendous power and rhythmical concentration. These interpretations are indeed seminal and deeply moving. But the set as a whole is consistently as fine. For example, Schmidt's take of the sixth is a real gem.

Comparing with other fine, more recent stereo sets (in digital recordings), for example Blomstedt (Decca) and Schonwandt (Da Capo), I do not think that the sheer vitality and superb interpretative grasp of Schmidt's accounts have been surpassed.

This is definitively the set to have (even if you already have a Nielsen set).

Excellent Complete Set In Stereo.......2004-07-19

I can heartily recommend this well-recorded and well-played set of Nielsen's six symphonies to those of you who, like me, find the earlier Danish recordings the most compelling interpretively, but who would like to have a decent alternative in contemporary sound.

My favorite performances - I regard them as the benchmarks against which all others are judged - are Jensen's #2 and Grondahl's #4 (Dutton 4001), Jensen's #1 and #5 (Dutton 2502), and Tuxen's #3 (coupled with his fine 5th on Dutton 1207). Other fine historic performances (all "live" except for Jensen's superb studio 6th) can be found in Danacord 351-351, a 3-disc set that has Tuxen in #1 and #5, Grondahl in #2, and Jensen in #3, 4 and 6.

Among stereo alternatives, Stokowski left an excellent #2 and a superlative #6, both in live performances with the Danish State Radio Orchestra (on IMG/EMI 75480 and BBC 4059, respectively). The great Martinon/Chicago 4th was on RCA LP and is WAY overdue for a CD re-issue.

Schmidt's performances may not reach the heights of those listed above, but they are solidly inflected and highly idiomatic (Schmidt was mentored by Jensen). I certainly prefer his readings of #3-5 to those by Schonwandt, Leaper, Blomstedt and Bostock. And Regis has done a top-notch job in re-mastering the original analog recordings (formerly on Unicorn).

A best buy among stereo complete sets: Recommended.

Track Listings: