Nielsen: Violin Concerto

On this CD:

1. Concerto for violin & orchestra, Op 33/FS 61
Composed by Carl Nielsen
Performed by Eugene Fodor

2. Romance for violin & piano, Op 2/1
Composed by Carl Nielsen
Performed by Eugene Fodor

3. Little Suite for string orchestra in A minor, Op. 1/s 1-3/FS 6
Composed by Carl Nielsen
Performed by Eugene Fodor

Tracks:

Overture To 'Tannhauser'
Domna, Pos Vos Ay Chausida
We Don't Merely Use Instruments, We Play On Them. And They Play On Us.
Hungarian Dance No.7
The Violin Is One Of The Most Tender And Beautiful Instruments Ever Invented.
Violin Concerto In D Major (Adagio)
But For A Long Time It Was Seen As The Instrument Of The Devil.
The Soldier's Tale: Triumphal March Of The Devil
The Manipulative Seductiveness Of The Gypsy Violin.
Csardas Music
The Violin And The Initiation Of Nature
The Four Seasons (Spring, Mvt 1)
Birds Are Again Evoked In The Second Concerto, Especially Music's Natural Favourite.
The Four Seasons (Summer, Mvt 1)
Like The Devil, The Violin Is A Master Of Disguise.
Old Viennese Dance No.3 'Schon Rosmarin'
The Menacing Sensuality Of Ravel's Tzigane: A Very Different Side Of The Violin:
Tzigane
Do We Now Have The True Measure Of This Instrument? Not Just Yet.
Caprice No.24
The Many Effects Of The String Tremolando: Brandenburg Concerto No.4 (Last Mvt)/From Joy To Fright/Quartettsatz In C Minor/The String Tremolo Practically Spells The World Agitato.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No.7)
Prokofiev's Tremolo In Romeo And Juliet Should Not Be Heard Just Before Bedtime.
Romeo And Juliet: Act IV
Vivaldi Use It To Illustrate The Shivering Of Travellers Crossing The Ice.
The Four Seasons (Winter, Mvt 1)
The Violin Muted
Clair De Lune
The Gentleness Of Muted Strings Persists Even When A Whole Orchestra Plays.
Piano Concerto No.21 In C Major, K.467 (Slow Mvt)
The Pizzicato Violin
Pizzicato Polka
In Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, The Accompaniment Is Pizzicato.
Violin Concerto No.2 In G Minor (Slow Mvt)
Varieties Of Pizzicato: Colas Breugnon (The People's Feast)/Now A Drier, Leaner, Hungrier Pizzicato. There's Not A Lot Of Comfort Here./Capriol Suite (Tordion)/The Use Of Pizzicato As 'Percussion'/Romeo And Juliet (Act I)/Mahler Used Pizzicato...
The Planets (Mars - The Bringer Of War)
The Technique Of Double-Stopping Enables The Violin To Play Duets With Itself./Sonata No.3 In C Major For Unaccompanied Violin (Fugue)/Now A Later Example Of The Same Technique
Hungarian Dance No.4
Double-Stopping Is A Standard Feature Of A Lot Of Folk Music.
The Four Seasons (Autumn, Mvt 1)
Now The Same Technique, But The Sound Might Have Come From Another World.
Bolero
Double-Stopping Can Only Approximate The Sound Of A Real Violin Duet.
Cadenza To The Violin Concerto By Brahms
Now Compare That With A Real Violin Duet.
Forty-Four Duos (No. 1: Teasing Song)
Another Duo By Bartok, Demonstrating The Violin's Rich Lower Register
Forty-Four Duos (No.2: Maypole Dance)
And Now What May Be The Most Beautiful Accompanied Violin Duet In History
Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
The Soul Of The Violin Is In Song; But What About This Weird Passage?
Violin Concerto No.1 In D Major (Mvt 2)
The Use Of Harmonies In The Orchestra Can Be Both Magical And Unsettling.
Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 1, Opening)
Tchaikovsky's Use Of Harmonics In The Sleeping Beauty Is Both Strange And Darling.
The Sleeping Beauty (Act II, No.15: Entr'Acte)
Ravel's Harmonics In Mother Goose Effect A Magical Transformation.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
Stravinsky's Harmonics In The Firebird Transport Us Almost Into Another World./The Firebird (Introduction)
The Natural Upper Notes Of The Violins Have A Unique Emotional 'Grab'.
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Of The Afterworldsmen)
Still In Their Upper Register, The Violins Unleash The Energy Of A Young Colt.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No. 4)
Elsewhere, Britten Uses The Same High Register To Create A Very Different Mood.
Four Sea Interludes (Dawn) From 'Peter Grimes'
To End This Outing With The Violins, A Charming Little Elfin Dance
Elfenreigen

Tracks:

Introduction To The Viola
Viola Concerto (Mvt 1)
Khatchaturian Gets A Very Different Sound From It: Fuller, Fruitier, More Exotic.
Gayane Suite No.1 (Armen's Solo)
Very Nearly The Whole Of The Violin's Upper Register Is Also Available To The Viola.
Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'
The Viola Can Bring A Special, Rich Twanginess To Pizzicato That The Violins Lack./Don Quixote/Berlioz Drew Sounds From It That Retain Their Metallic Strangeness Even Today.
Harold In Italy (Mvt 4)
The Muted Viola: Intimate, Gentle, Poignant In Dvork
Cypresses (No.9)
The Massed Violas Of The Modern Symphony Orchestra In Mahler
Symphony No.4 (Mvt 3)
The 'Period' Viola In Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No.6 (Last Mvt)
The Cello: A Voice Of Unique Nobility
Suite No.1 For Unaccompanied Cello (Prelude)
Brahms And The 'Soul' Of The Cello
Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat Major (Mvt 3)
Most Orchestral Composers Tend To Emphasize The Cello's Lower Register.
Cantata 'Herz Und Mund Und Tat Und Leben', BWV 147 (Soprana Aria: Bereite Dir, Jesu)
In The Time Of Beethoven The Cello Remained As Fundamental As Ever.
Symphony No.3 'Eroica' (Finale)
But The Cello Is Not Condemned To Spend Its Life In The Basement.
Elfentanz, Op.39
Not Only In Recital Showpieces Like That Is The Cello Is Used In Its Highest Register.
The Protecting Veil (Opening)
A Cello With An Identity-Crisis: The Pizzicato Flamencan
Flamenco
Double-Stopping In The Lower Reaches Of The Cello's Range
Solo Suiet For Cello And Piano (Sardana)
It's In The Middle Register That The Cello Really Comes Into Its Own.
Oriental Dance, Op.2 No.2
It Was To The Cellos That Beethoven Gave Two Of His Most Famous Themes./Symphony No.5 (Mvt 2)/Still More Famous Than That Theme Is This One From The Ninth Symphony.
Symphony No.9 (Finale)
Introduction To The Double-Bass
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Elephant)
But The Double-Bass Can Be Intensely Expressive And Graceful.
Elegy No.1 In D Major
The Range Of The Double-Bass Is The Greatest Of All The String Instruments/Allegro Di Concerto, 'Alla Mendelssohn'/And It's Also Capable Of Very Considerable Virtuosity.
Capriccio Di Bravura
Double-Bass Solos In Orchestral Scores Are Rare But Often Memorable./Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 3)/In His Third Symphony Mahler Makes A Very Different Use Of The Instrument./Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1)
The Double-Bass Muted In Prokofiev/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Kije's Wedding)/In Another Work Prokofiev Uses The Double-Bass To Enhance The Winds./Romeo And Juliet (Act III)/And He Combines The Bass Clarinet With A Shivering Tremolo From The Double-Basses....
Symphony No.5 (Mvt 3)/So Much For The Strings/On Now To The Winds

Tracks:

The Antiquity And Magic Of The Flute
Prelude A L'Apres-Midi D'Un Faune
The Versatility And Agility Of The Flute
Orchestral Suite No.2 In B Minor (Badinerie)
The Flute In Fifteenth-Century Spain
Sa'Dawi
Other Flutes: The Bass And Alto
Chamber Music No.II
The Piccolo - Aptly Named
La Naissance D'Osiris (Mvt 6)
From A Piccolo Of The Eighteenth Century To One Of Its Descendants In The Twentieth
Suite No.1 For Small Orchestra (Valse)
A Variety Of Techniques
Chamber Music No.II
Flutter-Tonguing. But Tchaikovsky Got There Eighty Years Before.
The Nutcracker (Act II, No.2: Scene)
From The Transverse To The Vertical: The Baroque Recorder
Recorded Suite In A Minor (Menuet II)
An Unfamiliar, Early Vision Of The Instrument
Naelden, Naelden
The Bachian Oboe
Cantata 'Ein Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott', BWV 80 (No.7: Duetto)
Introduction To The Cor Anglais Or 'English Born'
Symphony No.9 'From The New World' (Mvt 2)
The Loneliness Of The Cor Anglais
The Swan Of Tuonela
The Cor Anglais Joins The French Horn In Haydn.
Symphony No.22 'The Philosopher' (Opening)
Introduction To The Oboe D'Amore, Beloved Of Bach - But Also Of Ravel
Bolero
The Clarinet Family: Boxing The Compass, From The Depths Of The Bass Clarinet.../The Egyptian (Violence)/...To The Raucous And Squealy.../Taras Bulba (The Death Of Ostap)/...To The Shrill And Complaining...
Petrushka (No.8: Peasant With Bear)/...To The High Sprits Of A Playful Puppy./Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)/And To The Downright Jazzy/Romeo And Juliet (Act II)
As The High Clarinets Tend To Be Loud, So The Bass Tends To Be Soft:
Gayane Suite No. 1 (Mvt 5)
The Bass Clarinet Is Used By Most Composers Mainly As A Colouring Agent.../Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/...But It Does Occasionally Get A Whole Tune To Itself./Iberia (Almeria).
The Range Of The Normal Clarinet Parts Goes Quite High...
The Snow Maiden (Scene 5: Melodrama)
...And Quite Low.
Peter And The Wolf (The Cat)
The Clarinet As Concerto Soloist
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
But That's Not The Instrument Mozart Wrote It For; This Is:
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
Introduction To The Saxophone
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 4)
The Soprano Saxophone Has Quite A Different Feel To It.
L'Arlesienne Suite No.1 (Minuet)
The Little Sopranino Sax Goes Even Higher.
Bolero
The Most Famous Use Of The Saxophone Is In An Orchestration By Ravel.
Pictures At An Exhibition (The Old Castle)
The Saxophone Can Be Quite Contagiously Good-Humoured.
Sax-O-Phun
The Puffa-Puffa Image Of The Bassoon
Peter And The Wolf (Grandfather)
The Bachian Bassoon, In Accompanimental Mode
Cantata 'Weichet Nur, Betrubte Schatten' ('Wedding Cantata'), BWV 202 (Aria No.1)
Bizet Leaves The Puffa-Puffa Image Out, Allowing The Bassoon To Sing./Carmen Suite No.1 (Les Dragons D'Alcala)
And Ravel, Also In Spanish Mode, Does Likewise.
Bolero
The Bassoon As A Voice Of High Seriousness, Indeed Desolate Loneliness
Symphony No.3 (Opening)
The Eerie Bassoon In Its Highest Register
The Rite Of Spring (Opening)
Stravinsky Now Draws On Its Lowest Register, Lonely And Melancholy.
The Firebird Suite (1919, Berceuse)
The Bassoon As Concerto Soloist, Avoiding All Exaggeration
Bassoon Concerto In G Minor (Finale)
The Deep-Voiced Contra-Bassoon, As A Fairy-Tale Beast
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
The French Horn Under Its Woodwind Hat
Wind Quintet, Op.43 (Last Mvt)
Now A More Prominent Role, In A Woodwind Quintet From An Earlier Era
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Mvt 2)
The Horn In Harmonious Blend With Strings In Another Quintet
Horn Quintet, K.407 (Finale)

Tracks:

The Trumpet As Virtuoso Soloist
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Last Mvt)
The Special Brillance Of Paired Trumpets
Concerto In C For Two Trumpets, RV537 (Mvt 1)
The Ceremonial Trumpet
Fanfare For The Common Man
Trumpets And Drums - An Incomparable Alliance
Messiah (The Trumpet Shall Sound)
The Versatility Of The Trumpet, From The Most Public To The Most Lonely
Piano Concerto In F (Slow Mvt)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of The City/An American In Paris/The Trumpet As Recruitment Officer/The Soldier's Tale (The March)/The Trumpet As Swaggerer
Carmen Suite No.2 (Habanera)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of Strength And Courage
Carmet Suite No.2 (Toreador's Song)
The Trumpet Muted/Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Opening)/The Trumpet As The Voice Of Weariness
Billy The Kid
The Trumpet As Character Actor
Pictures At An Exhibition (No.6)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of God
Mass In B Minor ('Et Exspecto')
The Birth Of The Trombone
Aenmerckt Nu Hier
The Birth Of The Brass As A Family
Canzon 12 In Double Echo
The Trombone In The Eighteenth Century
Trombone Concerto In B Flat Major (Finale)
The Tone Of The Tenor Trombone/Romance For Trombone And Organ/The Memorable Voice Of The Bass Trombone/Requiem (Mvt 2)/But The Bass Trombone Is More Than An Instrumental Bullfrog.
Hosannah
The Trombones Become Part Of The Orchestra.
Symphony No.5 (Finale)
The Wagnerian Trombone:/Overture To 'Tannhauser'
The Trombone As Caricaturist
Pulcinella (No.19: Vivo)
The Trombone As Raspberry/Concerto For Orchestra (Intermezzo)
The Horn And The Hunt
Horn Concerto No.4 In E Flat, K.495 (Finale)
The Challenging Horn Of The Baroque
Abaris Ou Les Boreades (Menuet)
The Scarcity Of First-Rate Players In Handel's Time
Walter Music (Minuet 1)
The Horn As Magician/The Firebird Suite (1919, Finale)
Horns And The Sound Of Nobility
Overture To 'Tannhauser' (Opening)
The Special Sound Of The Horn In Its Higher Register
Mass In B Minor ('Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus')
The Trumpet-Like Sound Of Massed Horns
Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1, Opening)
The Tuba - Unfairly Maligned?
Symphony No.6 (Mvt 3)
The Tuba Perfectly Cast By Ravel
Pictures At An Exhibition (Bydlo)

Tracks:

Introduction. And We Begin With A Bang.
Fanfare For The Common Man/The Bass Drum On The Battlefields/Wellington's Victory, Op.91 (Opening)
At The Opposite Extreme Is The Triangle.
Piano Concerto No.1 In E Flat (Scherzo)
Categories Of Percussion: Tuned And Untuned. The Side Drum
Overture To 'La Gazza Ladra' - The Thieving Magpie (Opening)
The Side Drum In An Effective But Unexpected Role/Clarinet Concerto (Mvt 1)
The Tambourine. One Of The Oldest Instruments In The World
Den Hoboecken Dans
Even Older Is The Originally Oriental Gong.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
No Single Instrument Can Match The Gong In Evoking The Breaking Of Waves./Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'/But Gongs Don't Have To Be Struck To Be Effective.
Gymnopedie No.2
The Cymbals Are Generally Discovered Early In Life./The Sanguine Fan/And They Do More Than Clash Together Loudly. They Can Be Clashed Together Softly./Studio Example: But They Needn't Be Clashed Together At All/Studio Example: They Can Be Lightly...
Other Untuned Percussion Instruments Include The Whip.: Piano Concerto In G Major (Opening)/And Here Are No Fewer Than Twenty, Cracked By Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Act I, Scene 5)
More Versatile Than The Whip Are The Wood Blocks.../Studio Example/...Which Crop Up All Over The Place In Twentieth-Century American Music.
Rodeo (Hoe-Down)
Related To The Wood Blocks, By Sound, Are The Castanets./Jota Aragonesa/But The Castanets Were Also Used By Monteverdi Back In The Seventeenth Century.
Scherzi Musicali (Damigella Tutta Belle)
A Still Earlier Example From Fifteenth-Century Spain
Yo M'Enamori D'Un Aire
The Birth Of The Bongo
Symphonic Dances From 'West Side Story'
From The Streets Of New York To The Blacksmith's Shop/Il Trovatore ('Anvil Chorus')
Desert-Island Decibels: Grand Canyon Suite (On The Trail)/Arcana
From One Vegetable To Another: The Humble Squash, Or Marrow/Huapango
Onwards To The Tuned Percussion. First, The Timpani
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Introduction)
But The Drum Roll Can Be More Effectively Frightening Than The Big Bang.: Symphony No.2 'Resurrection' (Mvt 3)
Not One Drum Roll, But Many/Grand Canyon Suite (Sunrise)/Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)
Taking Advantage Of Tunability
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Mvt 2)
The Russian Composer Rodion Shchedrin Takes A Downward Turn./Carmen Suite (Changing Of The Guard)/Tuned, Yes; But For The Truly Melodic We Must Look Elsewhere.
Introducing The Glockenspiel/Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Saint-Saens And The Xylophone
The Carnival Of The Animals (Fossils)
Ravel And The Xylophone
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
Introducing The Marimba/Carmen Suite (First Intermezzo)
Introducing The Vibraphone
The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Narange Dolce)
The Vibraphone Goes Russian.../Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)/...And Is Joined By The Marimba./Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Introducing The Hungarian Cimbalom
Folk Dances
The Cimbalom And The Symphony Orchestra
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 3)
Introducing The Tubular Bells
Hary Janos Suite (Viennese Musical Clock)
A More 'Up-Front' Approach From Rodion Shchedrin
Carmen Suite (Introduction)
But The Bells Can Also Make The Sinister Even More Sinister./Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
Introducing The Celeste
The Nutcracker (Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy)
Magic, In The Use Of Collective Percussion
Miroirs (La Vallee Des Cloches)
Plucked Instruments: The 'Undercover Percussion'/Carmen Suite (Scene)
A Prime Case In Point Is The Harp, Irresistible To The Romantics./The Nutcracker (Act II, No.1: Scene)/The Non-Solo Harp As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Hungarian Rhapsody No.1
The Traditionally Subservient Role Of The Harpsichord In The Baroque Orchestra
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Slow Mvt)
The Piano: King Of The Tuned Percussion/Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Mvt 3)/And A Quarter Of A Century After That:
Petrushka (Russian Dance)
The Anti-Romantic Piano As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Last Mvt)

Tracks:

Keyboard Instruments In The Orchestra - The Most Powerful Of Them All:
Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Finale)
But Things In Handel's Day Were Very Different.
Organ Concerto In B Flat, Op.4 No.3 (Last Mvt)
The Organ Is Difficult To Classify.
An Unexpected, Organ-related Guest
Concerto Pour Zampogna (Last Mvt)
Peasant-Fancying... And A Touch Of The Roaming Cowboy
Les Miserables (Drink With Me)
Outside Artefacts And The Power Of Association
Mahler's Sleighbells
Symphony No.4 (Opening)
A Roll-Call Of Some Unusual Guests/The Typewriter/Parade
Chains, And More/Integrales/An American In Paris/Sandpaper Ballet
Purpose-Built Oddities: Wind Machines/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Opening)
Don Quixote (Variation VIII)
National Calling Cards: The Guitar For Spain/Concierto De Aranjuez (Finale)
And The Guitar's Poor American Relative, The Banjo/Washington Breakdown
And Poorer Still, The Mouth Organ/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Packing Up)
The Balalaika For Russia/Romeo And Juliet (Act II: No.14)
The Maracas For Mexico/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (El Desayuno)
The Bongos And Congas And A Whole Wealth Of Other Drums For Africa And Central America/Studio Example
The Sitar Of India/Evening Raga: Bhapoli
The Accordion For France (Especially Paris)/Paris Canaille
The Zither For Vienna/The Third Man (Theme)
The Cimbalom For Hungary/Folk Dances
The Guitar As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Rondena
There Are Whole Orchestras Of Balalaikas./Sveit Mesiats
The Effect Of The Wordless Human Voice, Used Purely As An Instrument/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
Nocturnes
Instruments And the Imitation Of Nature. The Clarinet As Cuckoo
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Cuckoo)
The Flute As An All-purpose Aviary
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aviary)
The Oboe As Duck
Peter And The Wolf (The Duck)
The Recording Of Reality. Does It Work As Well?
The Pines Of Rome (The Pines Of The Janiculum)
The Recording Of Reality Electronically Reborn In New Guises
Cantus Articus - Concerto For Birds And Orchesra (Mvt 2)
Beethoven Turns Avian: Cuckoo, Nightingale, And Quail
Symphony No.6 'Pastoral' (Andante Molto Mosso)
Some Improbable Casting: The Violin As Braying Donkey
The Carnival Of The Animals (Persons With Long Ears)
A Truly Orchestral Hee-haw To Be Reckoned With
Overture To 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
A Thunderstorm In A Million
Symphony No.6 'Pastoral (Allegro-Allegretto)
the Instrumental Depiction Of A Silent World
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aquarium)
Saint-Saens' Menagerie Takes A Curtain Call.
The Carnival Of The Animals (Finale)

Tracks:

The Grouping Of Instrumental Families. An Additive Approach. First, Two Violins
Forty-Four Duos (No.4)
A Great Contrast, Of Both Pitch And Character: Violin And Viola
Duo For Violin And Viola In B Flat Major, K.424 (Finale, Vars 1 & 2)/Studio Example
Arrival Of The Standard String Trio: Violin, Viola, And Cello
String Trio In B Flat (Menuetto)
The String Quartet: Two Violins, Viola, And Cello
String Quartet In F, Op.18 No.1 (Mvt 3)
The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Viola
String Quartet No.5 In D, K.593 (Adagio)
The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Cello
String Quintet In C (Mvt 3)
The String Sextet: Two Violins, Two Violas, And Two Cellos
String Sextet In B Flat (Mvt 2)
The String Octet: The Standard String Quaret Times Two
Octet In E Flat, Op.20 (Mvt 1)
Double The String Octet: A Fully Fledged String Orchestra
String Symphony No.2 (Finale)
The Massed Strings Of A Symphony Orchestra
Fantasia On A Theme Of Thomas Tallis
Contrasts Of Pitch And Instrumental 'Colour' In The Woodwind Section
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Theme)
In The First Variation It's The Horn That Gets The Lion's Share.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 1
In Variation Two The Torch Is Handed To The Bassoon.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 2
In Variation Three The Oboe Leads.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 3
Variation Four: Conversation Before Returning To A Solo-dominated Texture
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 4
And Variation Five is Dominated By The Clarinet.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 5
The Next To Be Featured Is The Virtuoso Flute.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 6
Individual Farewells And A Closing Chorus
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 7
A Mixed Group: Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, String Quartet, And Double-Bass
Octet In F (Mvt 3)
The Early Classical Symphony Orchestra Of Haydn And Mozart
Symphony No.29 In A, K.201 (Finale)
Strings, Wind, But No Brass. What Haydn And Mozart Never Knew
Canzon 28
Beethoven's Fifth: Two Horns, Two Trumpets, And Three Trombones Join The Team.
Symphony No.5 (Finale)
From Beethoven To The Massive Orchestras Of Berlioz, Wagner, And Mahler
Beethoven Changed The Face Of The Symphony And The Orchestra Forever
Symphoy No.6 'Tragic' (Mvt 1)
The Cult Of Orchestral Elephantiasis Reaches Its Peak.
Symphony No.1 'Gothic' (VI: Te Ergo Quaesumus)
When Large Doesn't Necessarily Mean Loud: Debussy
Images (Gigues)
A Crisis Of Confidence; The Orchestra's Survival Hangs In The Balance, But It Still Develops. The Ondes Martenot:
Turangalila Symphony (Chant D'amour 1)
The Advent Of The 'Early Music' Movement Brings A New Vitality And Freshness.
Balle De Xerxes (Gavotte En Rondeau)
Computer And Synthesiser: Friends Or Foes?
Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
A Speculative Look Ahead/Mass In B Minor ('Dona Nobis Pacem')

Customer Reviews:

Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material!.......2007-04-04

This set lends itself to greatly enhancing one's knowledge of the orchestra, instruments in it, and their usage. I am a huge music buff, and I still picked up a great deal I previously did not know. I highly recommend this for all who wish to understand the origin of music, as well as the processes that are employed to create music!

Beginner or Expert.......2007-03-12

This CD is excellent for the beginner or expert! To be able to haear the instrumets separately and then together really provides a good education. and/or refresher. The book thaty comes with the CD is alomost worth the price by itself!

Very Informative and Enjoyable.......2006-11-20

Whether you're a music novice or pro, "The instruments of the Orchestra" is a very worthwhile purchase. The 7 CDs, with a total of 8 hours, are expertly narrated by Jeremy Siepmann. He's a great speaker, very much like the late Leonard Bernstein was. Mr. Siepmann takes you on an unforgetable musical journey covering the origins and use of the various orchestral instruments throughout musical history. The balance between his narration and a wealth of musical examples, which range from snippets to entire movements, is superb. The comprehensive enclosed booklet is excellent and faithfully follows the 7 CDs in content. Even with my 40+ years of music training I still learned new things from this wonderful collection. Considering the excellence of the content, and a cost that translates to about $5 per disc, this collection is a great value. Grab it, you won't regret that you did. Five solid stars!

Frank's view.......2006-08-19

This boxed set of CD's with booklet achieved all I had hoped that it would. There are good samples of individual instruments and well done commentary on each. The only drawback was that some of the samples were too brief and could have been longer, hoiwever I guess this fits in with time constraints of the medium. It has given me a lot of clues as to future purchases of CD's for listening to individual instruments. Altogeth a satisfactory purchase and a welcome addition to my collection.

Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra.......2003-11-08

I've listened to classical music for years and am interested in composition. I bought this CD set to learn how an orchestra and its instruments work. I thought the CDs would be a nice but boring lecture. They aren't! Not only are they FUN but they are informative as well. I learned a huge amount from each CD and couldn't wait to listen to the next one.

The narrator and writer is a great speaker and holds your attention well. He is definitely knowledgeable. He provides musical examples for each point he makes, so you get to "hear" what he just talked about. I'd say the CDs are about 65% music and 35% narration. You'll learn about the range of instruments, some history, different ways to play them, how they sound, and how they are used in the orchestra. This CD set was a great learning experience and is sold at such a low price!

I recommend this CD for those who want to learn about classical music and those who know about it but are interested in learning more about the inner workings of an orchestra. You'll learn much useful information. For instance, the Rite of Spring (with that eerie start) is written for bassoon! I never knew a bassoon could sound like that but now I do.

Tracks:

Flute Concerto In D Major, RV 428 'The Goldfinch': I. Allegro
The Four Seasons ('Spring') RV 269: III. Allegro (Pastoral Dance)
Flute Concerto In G Minor, BWV 1056: II. Largo
Orchestral Suite In B Minor, BWV 1067: Badinerie
Flute Sonata In E-Flat Major, BWV 1031: II. Siciliano
Orfeo ed Euridice: Dance Of The Blessed Spirits
Flute Concerto In G, KV 313: III. Rondeau. Tempo di Menuetto
Greensleeves
The Nutcracker, Op. 71: Chinese Dance
The Nutcracker, Op. 71: Dance Of The Reed Flutes
Sicilienne, Op. 78
Entr'acte To Carmen, Act III
Syrinx
L'Arlesienne Suite No. 2: III. Menuet
Thais: Mediation
Piece In The Form Of A Habanera
Carnival Of The Animals: The Birds (Aviary)
Maple Leaf Rag
Concerto For Flute: II. Allegretto - Adagio ma non troppo
Porgy And Bess: 'Summertime'
Density 21.5 For Solo Flute

Customer Reviews:

Interesting Mix, but not for serious classical music listeners .......2005-08-08

Bach, Vivaldi, and Mozart are all too well known, but less known musics are blended well into this CD. That's why I bought this CD. I think this is a good CD to familiarlize myself to flute pieces, but as a serious classical music listener it may come in short as more than half of pieces in this CD are something too famous and were listened so many times. This CD can be used to know what I like and then move forward from there. I am the type of listener who listen to the entire Carmen of Bizet instead of listening to only one part or two of it. If a listener is unfamiliar with clessical music, I think this is a good one to start.

a must have flute cd.......2001-07-23

this is a great flute cd. i enjoy the fact that the cd has many preformers rather than just one. Jean-Pierre Rampal, of course probably the most famouse flutist, and William Bennett, an amazing flutist who I was fortuante enough to hear in person, are both on this cd, as well as a few other great flutist. i especially enjoyed Siciliene, because i have never heard it played with flute and hard, and because i have played the piece myself.

even if you haven't heard of some of these songs it is wonderful to listen to them. i recomend this cd for flutiests of all levels.

takes you to another place and time!.......2000-08-25

This cd is by far the most beautiful that I have ever heard! It just takes you away to another place and time, far from your worries, very relaxing. I highly reccomend this to anyone who loves beautiful music!

Average customer rating:

Danish music with Danish spirit

Nielsen: The Complete Concertos

Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Nielsen: Orchestral Works
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Haydn: Piano Sonatas

ASIN: B000000ALP
Release Date: 1992-10-28

Tracks:

Violin Concerto, Op. 33: Praeludium - Largo, part 1
Violin Concerto, Op. 33: Allegro cavalleresco, part 1
Violin Concerto, Op. 33: Poco adagio, part 2
Violin Concerto, Op. 33: Rondo (Allegretto scherzando), part 2
Flute Concerto: Movement I : Allegro moderato
Flute Concerto: Movement II : Allegretto - Adagio ma non troppo
Clarinet Concerto, Op. 57: Allegretto un poco - Poco adagio - Allegro vivace -Tempo primo ma tranquillo

Customer Reviews:

Danish music with Danish spirit.......2000-12-30

I don't have a lot to compare by on the flute and violin concerti, but as a clarinet player who has heard a lot of recordings of the clarinet concerto, none can compare to Mr. Thomsen's recording of the clarinet concerto. It's full of the necessary "piss and vinegar" spirit that this concerto demands, with the tenderness that slow moments require, as well. Going on knowledge of how Mr. Nielsen's music is to be performed, all of the soloists do a fabulous job of playing this exceedingly difficult music. The Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra also provides a fine, spirited accompaniment to these solo pieces. For authenticity of style, I can't recommend a better recording. And for all those clarinetists out there, do yourself a favor and AVOID Drucker's recording in favor of this. He has no emotion!

Average customer rating:

Mostly Magnificent Menuhin, with a Few Reservations

The Violinist
Yehudi Menuhin , Johann Sebastian Bach , Bela Bartok , Ludwig van Beethoven , Alban Berg , Johannes Brahms , Max Bruch , Arcangelo Corelli , Edward Elgar , Franz Joseph Haydn , Edouard Lalo , Felix Mendelssohn , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Carl Nielsen , Niccolo Paganini , Camille Saint-Saens , Jean Sibelius , Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky , Michael Tippett , Henri Vieuxtemps , Antonio Vivaldi , William Walton , Alberto Lysy , Anatole Fistoulari , Antal Dorati , Anthony Bernard , Gaston Poulet , John Pitchard , Mogens Woldike , Pierre Boulez , and Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Fantasies | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Beethoven: The Complete Symphonies and Piano Concertos
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Bach: Orchestral Suites & Concertos
The Glory of Rostropovich: 80th Birthday Tribute
Schubert: 8 Symphonies

ASIN: B0000BWTKJ
Release Date: 2003-11-04

Tracks:

I. Allegro
II. Affettuoso
III. Allegro
I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Allegro Assai
I. Allegro
II. Adagio
III. Allegro Assai
I. Vivace
II. Largo Ma Non Tanto
III. Allegro

Tracks:

Rhapsody No. 2 (Lassu [Moderato] - Friss [Allegro Moderato])
I. Allegro Non Troppo
II. Andante Tranquillo
III. Allegro Molto
I. Andante
I. Allegretto (Scherzando)
II. Allegro
II. Adagio

Tracks:

Romance No. 1 In G Major
I. Allegro Ma Non Troppo (Cadenza: Kreisler)
II. Larghetto
III. Rondo (Allegro) (Cadenza: Kreisler)
I. Allegro Moderato
II. Adagio
III. Finale (Allegro Energico)

Tracks:

Romance No. 2 In F Major, Op. 50
I. Allegro Non Troppo (Cadenza: Kreisler)
II. Adagio
III. Allegro Giocoso, Ma Non Troppo Vivace - Poco Piu Presto
I. Allegro Molto Appassionato
II. Andante
III. Allegretto Non Troppo - Allegro Molto Vivace

Tracks:

I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Allegro Molto
I. Andante Tranquillo
II. Presto Capriccioso Alla Napolitana & Trio (Canzonetta)
III. Vivace

Tracks:

I. Allegro Moderato (Cadenza: Menuhin)
II. Adagio Molto
III. Finale (Presto) (Cadenza: Menuhin)
I. Allegro
II. Andante Cantabile
III. Rondo (Andante Grazioso - Allegro Ma Non Troppo)
I. Allegro Maestoso
II. Andante
III. Presto

Tracks:

I. Allegro Non Troppo
II. Scherzando (Allegro Molto)
III. Intermezzo (Allegretto Non Troppo)
IV. Andante
V. Rondo (Allegro)
I. Allegro Non Troppo
II. Andantino Quasi Allegretto
III. Molto Moderato E Maestoso - Allegro Non Troppo
Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28
Havanaise, Op. 83

Tracks:

I. Allegro Maestoso (Cadenza: Emile Sauret)
II. Adagio Espressivo
III. Rondo (Allegro Spiritoso)
I. Andante - Moderato - Cadenza
II. Adagio Religioso
III. Scherzo (Vivace) & Trio
IV. Finale (Allegro)
I. Allegro Non Troppo
II. Cadenza
III. Adagio
IV. Allegro Con Fuoco

Tracks:

Serenade Melancolique
I. Allegro Moderato
II. Adagio Di Molto
III. Allegro Ma Non Tanto
I. Praeludium (Largo)
I. Allegro Cavalleresco
II. Intermezzo (Poco Adagio)
II. Rondo (Allegretto Scherzando)

Tracks:

I. Allegro
II. Largo
III. Allegro
I. Allegro Non Molto
II. Adagio
III. Presto
I. Allegro
II. Adagio
III. Allegro
I. Allegro Non Molto
II. Largo
III. Allegro
I. Vivace - Allegro - Adagio - Vivace - Allegro - Largo Andante
II. Allegro
III. Grave - Andante Largo - Allegro
Fantasia Concertante On A Theme Of Corelli

Customer Reviews:

Mostly Magnificent Menuhin, with a Few Reservations.......2004-01-06

The recent trend toward classical box sets focusing on the performer instead of the composer (see my reviews of the various DG/Decca "Original Masters" sets) continues with EMI's new "Yehudi Menuhin - The Violinist." Sure EMI's past sets have showcased individual performances by Samson Francois, Eugen Jochum and Rudolf Kempe to name a few, but it was always under the heading of a given composer's works, and in the cases mentioned above, to Chopin's piano pieces, Bruckner's Symphonies and Strauss' Orchestral Works respectively. Therefore, this Menuhin collection is the first of EMI's "Budget Box Sets" to showcase a performer playing the works of a variety of composers.

As Menuhin was an EMI recording artist for an incredible 68 years (1931-99), his performances for the label number in the hundreds. With so much music from which to choose, this 10-disc set aims "to highlight some of those alternative versions, including recordings that have not been easily available since the days of LP and others that have never previously appeared on CD." Therefore, the obvious mainstream, easily attainable recordings are omitted here -- for example, the Beethoven/Mendelssohn VCs with Furtwangler, the Elgar VC with the composer conducting, and the Bruch/Mendelssohn VCs with Susskind and Kurtz.

However, a lot of this material has been on disc before on titles which the serious collector most likely already owns. Most of the Bach is currently available as part of the Bach "Budget Box Series" title. The Bruch, Mendelssohn, Brahms and Vivaldi VCs were all available in the now out-of-print 2CD EMI Seraphim series. The Elgar and the Walton are still available in the "British Composers" series. And perhaps most annoyingly, the previously unpublished Beethoven VC and Tchaikovsky "Serenade melancolique" (available as a single disc), and the Beethoven Romance No. 2 (available on an EMI Encore title) were both reissued just a few months back.

But let's focus on the positive, which are the other rare performances, the most significant being the never before reissued 1954 performance of Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 4 with John Pritchard and the Philharmonia. Other elusive recordings include Viuextemps and Paganini VCs with Fistoulari, Lalo and Saint-Saens works with Goossens, and excellent Berg and Bartok accounts with Boulez. Though I'm delighted at their inclusion, of lesser importance is a 1965 Bartok VC No. 2 with Dorati -- his mono EMI with Furtwangler and an earlier account with Dorati on Mercury Living Presence are far superior. Also, neither the Sibelius (Boult, 1955) nor Nielsen (Woldike, 1952) Concertos are truly Menuhin's cups of tea.

My last complaint has to do with the packaging. I know I'm being rather trite but it seems that EMI has taken the "slim" out of slim, paper-sleeved box sets with their latest batch of releases. Both this title and the new box of Liszt Orchestral Works by Masur are noticeably thicker than previous EMI sets featuring a similar number of discs. A minor point, but us serious classical collectors need every centimeter of space on our increasingly crowded CD shelves, not to mention the amount of wasted packaging.

Overall though, despite the fact that "Yehudi Menuhin - The Violinist" is not as essential a reissue as its counterparts in the "Original Masters" series, it is a delightful set that most collectors will thoroughly enjoy.

Nielsen: Symphony No4; Vaughan Williams: Symphony No5

Average customer rating:

Nielsen: Symphony No4; Vaughan Williams: Symphony No5

Manufacturer: Virgin Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00005A9NV
Release Date: 2001-10-09

Tracks:

Con, Op.33: I. Praeludium: Largo - Arve Tellefsen
Con, Op.33: II. Allegro Cavallersco - Arve Tellefsen
Con, Op.33: III. Poco Adagio - Arve Tellefsen
Con, Op.33: IV. Rondo: Allegretto Scherzando - Arve Tellefsen
Sym No.4, Op.29 'The Inextinguishable': I. Allegro - Poco Allegretto - Arve Tellefsen
Sym No.4, Op.29 'The Inextinguishable': II. Poco Adagio Quasi Andante - Allegro - Arve Tellefsen

Tracks:

Sym No.5 in D: Prld: Moderato - Ralph Markham/Kenneth Broadway
Sym No.5 in D: Scherzo: Presto - Ralph Markham/Kenneth Broadway
Sym No.5 in D: Romanza: Lento - Ralph Markham/Kenneth Broadway
Sym No.5 in D: Passacaglia: Moderato - Ralph Markham/Kenneth Broadway
Con: Toccata: Allegro Moderato - Ralph Markham/Kenneth Broadway
Con: Romanza: Lento - Ralph Markham/Kenneth Broadway
Con: Fuga Chromatica Con Finale Alla Tedesca: Allegro - Ralph Markham/Kenneth Broadway

Jean Sibelius / Carl Nielsen: Violin Concertos - Maxim Vengerov / Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Daniel Barenboim

Average customer rating:

The Nielsen is a once-in-a-lifetime performance
Awful!
Quite Good Overall
3/4 of this CD is great
Very strange.

Jean Sibelius / Carl Nielsen: Violin Concertos - Maxim Vengerov / Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Daniel Barenboim
Jean Sibelius , Carl Nielsen , Daniel Barenboim , Maxim Vengerov , and Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Manufacturer: Teldec
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Brahms: Violin Concerto; Sonata No. 3
Prokofiev & Shostakovich: Violin Concertos, No.2

ASIN: B000000S94
Release Date: 1996-09-03

Tracks:

Violin Concerto Op. 47 In D Minor: Allegro moderato
Violin Concerto Op. 47 In D Minor: Adagio di molto
Violin Concerto Op. 47 In D Minor: Allegro, ma non tanto
Violin Concerto Op. 33: Part I: Praeludium, Largo
Violin Concerto Op. 33: Part I: Allegro cavalleresco
Violin Concerto Op. 33: Part II: Poco adagio
Violin Concerto Op. 33: Part II:Rondo, Allegretto scherzando

Amazon.com essential recording

If the music of this Finnish master has ever seemed chilly and remote, this performance is likely to be a revelation. While Maxim Vengerov doesn't deliver the spectacular Northern Lights that Isaac Stern achieved early in his career, the hot-fingered Siberian goes for the underlying angst that gives this music a whole new level of depth. Conductor Barenboim, who's not known for his Sibelius, is similarly on his toes. The Nielsen performance is inevitably less seasoned; even the piece's strongest advocates have trouble convincing anybody to let them play it, though it's a first-class work. Thus, it's gratifying simply to hear such charismatic forces playing it, with its Danish sensibility making compatible bedfellows with Sibelius's sparer, Nordic manner. --David Patrick Stearns

Customer Reviews:

The Nielsen is a once-in-a-lifetime performance.......2006-07-26

Most listeners will buy this CD for the Sibelius concerto and stay (perhaps) for the Nielsen, but it's the latter that is the real triumph. I was going to do a comparative review of versions from Nikolaj Znaider, Cho-Liang Lin, and Vengerov, but as I listened it quickly became apparent that there isn't any commparison. Vengerov applies amazing finesse to Nielsen's sometimes enigmatic writing. He finds humor in the folk-dance tune at the end and passion in the opening cadenza that none of the others equals. Barenboim gives an alert, sympathetic accompaniment. Five stars without a doubt.

The Sibelius is more problematic. I agree with the reviewer below who places blame squarely with Barenboim, whose conducting is slow, mannered, and uninspired--a very poor showing unless you happen to like him unconditionally. Vengerov does his best to adapt, and he exhibits playing that is often intensely involving. On the ohter hand, he shreds his attacks in the finale (taken at a lumpish tempo) and ultimately can't carry the whole work himself. Three stars for a missed opportunity.

Awful!.......2005-09-14

1 star just for playing the wonderful Sibelius and 1 more for the rarely performed Nielsen. However the performance and recording is just plain awful. The sound is flimsy and detached, none of the brooding, icy fire that I usu. enjoy in this music. The Oistrakh version still reigns supreme at the moment.

Quite Good Overall.......2005-06-23

I find it interesting to see such polarized ratings on this CD. I think that both sides of the argument have a great deal of validity, but overall, this is a very nice CD.

First of all, the clenliness of the playing is rather sloppy. There is occasional bow noise and intonation issues, as well as rather sloppy-sounding runs. The general rhythmicism of the piece could be improved. I also will acknowledge that the interpretation is not always well though out and that the phrasing, dynamics, and timbre could be better exaggerated. There factors all combine to make a rather sloppy CD.

However, Vengerov deserves a great deal of recognition for his forceful playing, full volume, excellent articulation, and great tonal quality. If a bit sloppy, his playing is very powerful and energetic. He also seems to have a better sense of style than Shaham and Bell.

Combined with the fact that the Sibelius is one of the top violin masterpieces and that the Nielsen is a rarely heard masterpiece, I would strongly recommend this CD, as it is the best Sibelius I have heard so far. There's definitely room for improvement, but I'm impressed.

3/4 of this CD is great.......2005-03-16

When it comes to couplings, you simply cannot beat this one, the two greatest violin concertos from Scandinavia. The Nielsen, in four movements but with only one break, is highly underrated. It may not be the most beautiful violin concerto but it is powerful and quite original. The performance here is simply spectacular. The playing by Vengerov in the Sibelius is also on a very high level but I find the conducting of Barenboim to be cold and totally uninspired. If you already have a great recording of the Sibelius but none of the Nielsen, go ahead and purchase this CD. I believe you will love the Nielsen.

Very strange........2004-02-10

Maxim Vengerov is a great player, that's why I'm giving this cd 3 stars. His interpretation of this piece, however, is not very good. I recommend buying Nigel Kennedy's Just Listen cd for a better recording.

Carl Nielsen: Violin Concerto & Songs; Rued Langgaard: String Quartet No. 3

Average customer rating:

Carl Nielsen: Violin Concerto & Songs; Rued Langgaard: String Quartet No. 3

Manufacturer: Bridge
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00004WJM5
Release Date: 2000-09-26

Tracks:

Five Songs: 1. Sang bag Ploven
Five Songs: 2. Dangang Doden var i vente
Five Songs: 3. I aften
Five Songs: 4. Irmelin Rose
Five Songs: 5. Min Pige er saa lys som Rav
String Quartet No. 3 (1924): I Poco allegro rapinsoso - The Miro String Quartet
String Quartet No. 3 (1924): II Presto scherzo artifizioso - The Miro String Quartet
String Quartet No. 3 (1924): III Tranquillo - The Miro String Quartet
Concerto For Violin And Orchestra, Op. 33: I Praeludium, Largo; Allegro cavalleresco - Saeka Matsuyama, Violin
Concerto For Violin And Orchestra, Op. 33: II Poco adagio; Rondo, Allegretto scherzando - Saeka Matsuyama, Violin

Album Description

In 1999, the government of Denmark sponsored a festival of Danish arts in New York City. The culminating event of this festival was the Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition, which included attendance by Her Majesty, Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark. This disc features Silver Medalist Saeka Matsuyama's electrifying competition performance of Carl Nielsen's Violin Concerto, accompanied by Denmark's Odense Symphony Orchestra. Matsuyama's performance of the Nielsen Concerto also earned the 18-year old violinist the Odense Symphony Orchestra's Special Prize. Opening this celebratory disc is a stunning performance by the Miro String Quartet of Rued Langgaard's remarkable String Quartet No. 3. Considered to be among Langgaard;s finest compositions, the Miro Quartet gives a reading that had American and Danish critics reaching for superlatives. Rounding out this CD is a selection of songs by Carl Nielsen. Sung by the Danish baritone, Lars Thodberg Bertelsen, this group features some of Nielsen's most popular songs, including Irmelin Rose.

Nielsen: Violin Concerto; Clarinet Concerto; Flute Concerto

Average customer rating:

Nielsen's three concertos
great CD
One of the 20th-C's Major Contributors to the Concerto Genre

Nielsen: Violin Concerto; Clarinet Concerto; Flute Concerto
Nielsen , Carney , Banks , Davies , Bakels , and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Nielsen: Aladdin Suite; Pan and Syrinx; Saga Deam; Maskarade Overture; Helios Overture
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Nielsen: Symphonies no 4-6 / Blomstedt, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Bax: Symphony No. 6; Into the Twilight; Summer Music
Bax: Symphony No. 5; The Tale the Pine-Trees Knew

ASIN: B00004TF2U
Release Date: 2000-07-18

Tracks:

Vn Con, Op.33: Praeludium: Largo - Allegro Cavalleresco - Jonathan Carney
Vn Con, Op.33: Poco Adagio - Jonathan Carney
Vn Con, Op.33: Rondo: Allegretto Scherzando - Jonathan Carney
Cl Con, Op.57 - Kevin Banks
Fl Con: Allegro Moderato - Gareth Davies
Fl Con: Allegretto - Gareth Davies

Amazon.com

Nielsen's three Concertos, uniformly great pieces, barely fit on one long CD (78:59!), making it an ingenious program. Kees Bakels, a Dutch conductor now active in Bournemouth and Kuala Lumpur, leads vigorous, characterful, deeply committed performances of all three works. None of his noncelebrity soloists plays with the kind of individual personality heard in the orchestral performances. This provides an effective contrast in the Flute Concerto, where the rude orchestra battles the refined soloist and makes fun of him. The other two Concertos are just a bit disappointing in performance. But the disc is still a fine introduction to some great music and may lead listeners to investigate even better (and somewhat more expensive) performances by Tellefsen (Violin Concerto, EMI) or Drucker (clarinet) and Baker (flute) with Bernstein (CBS). Naxos has the superior recorded sound, though. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

Nielsen's three concertos.......2006-08-20

Here we have the complete concertos of the Danish composer Carl Nielsen (1865-1931). Nielsen originally planned to compose a concerto for each member of the Copenhagen Wind Quintet; however Nielsen only got around to the Flute Concerto (1926) and the Clarinet Concerto (1928).

The Violin Concerto (1912) is an earlier work. If you enjoy the ultra Romantic third and fourth symphonies, you will definitely enjoy the Violin Concerto. Nielsen remarked that he wanted to concerto to be "popular and showy without being superficial." And indeed, this is a very "showy" concerto. The concerto is divided into two sections, each beginning slowly, but concluding briskly. The fast section of the first movement contains a great theme and a lot of fiery violin playing, with an exhilarating coda to boot. The final movement takes the form of a delightful rondo. Those familiar with the symphonies will note all of Nielsen's melodic and harmonic trademarks in this concerto. Listen to the aggressive lower strings battle against the soaring French horn clarion calls at the 3:40-mark on the third track and you'll know what I'm talking about. This is a fantastic piece, and I am a little baffled why it is not better known.

The Flute Concerto and Clarinet Concerto belong to Nielsen's later period, with the spiky and sparse sixth symphony coming to mind. The soloist has an antagonist in each of these concertos. In the Clarinet Concerto, it is the snare drum, while in the Flute Concerto, it is the trombone. The snare part heard in the Clarinet Concerto is reminiscent of the conclusion of the sixth symphony. The solo part in the Clarinet Concerto is extremely difficult, and Nielsen makes dual use of the instrument, sometimes exploring the warm and lyrical aspects of the clarinet's timbre, while in others the piercing and menacing quality of the clarinet's upper register is used. The Clarinet Concerto is a bit bizarre, sometimes frightening (11-minute-mark), but is generally interesting. The Flute Concerto is a bit more "traditional" in comparison to the Clarinet Concerto, and contains some of the lyricism found in Nielsen's earlier symphonies. But, this lyricism is often offset by more modern ideas. Nielsen's intent is to contrast the graceful flute part against the rude interjections of the trombone player. I especially enjoy the conclusions to each of the concerto's two movements, with the exotic and beautiful ending of the first movement contrasted against the frolicking finish to the second movement where the flute and the "glissando-ing" trombone seem to reach a truce.

Wind concertos are a bit of an oddity in twentieth century music, but perhaps these two concertos were an influence on Nielsen's fellow Dane, Vagn Holmboe (1909-1996), as he was composing his fantastic wind concertos and concertinos. If you like these works by Nielsen, the concertos of Holmboe are well-worth exploring.

Nielsen's concertos are far less known in comparison to his symphonies. This is a shame, as these pieces deserve to be better known, especially the dramatic violin concerto. The playing by the soloists and orchestra is very good and is matched by the excellent engineering by Naxos.

Recommended.

78:59

great CD.......2005-10-10

All three concertos on this disc are excellent. Nielsen uses all three solo instruments in a captivating way. Particularly the flute concerto here is great; with the drums and other elements this concerto lacks the usual wispy campy quality found in many flute pieces. The recorded sound is also very good. I can't add much more to the comments of the other reviewer and would refer the reader to his review (I bought it at his recommendation and have not regretted it)

One of the 20th-C's Major Contributors to the Concerto Genre.......2001-08-13

Nielsen composed a woodwind quintet, and then planned to write a set of five concertos, one for each member of the woodwind quintet. In the event, he completed concertos only for the flute and clarinet (in addition to the earlier violin concerto). This is devastating news for the hornists in the world, particularly ... for a Nielsen horn concerto would be a gold nugget in the solo horn rep. No question.

Nielsen's contribution to the concerto genre is at the head of an oddly small collection of 20th composers, a small minority who composed concerti for more than one single-line instrument. The great Russians, Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Shostakovich, all wrote concerti both for violin and for piano; but none for solo wind instrument. What I know of the concertos of the only other 20th-century composer to write for more than one wind -- Hindemith -- does not seem to me to match the quality of Nielsen's work in the genre.

Nielsen ought to write a violin concerto well -- the instrument was his principal study for three years at the Copenhagen Conservatory, and he played at a second desk in the Royal Danish Orchestra for the premiere of his own first symphony, in March of 1894. The violin concerto is a moving, and absorbing work; in many respects solidly rooted in the rich tradition of the violin concerto repertory, but it benefits from that tradition rather than bogging down in it. There is even the occasional foreshadowing of the humor Nielsen shows in the later wind concerti, such as the end of the first movement where the horns "wobble" in imitation of the solo violin.

The clarinet concerto is dynamite; a great piece for the soloist to play, and the finest clarinet concerto since Mozart's. Nielsen takes the inherent soloist-vs.-orchestra "contest" which is at the heart of the concerto, and expands the contest. In the case of the clarinet concerto, the snare drum sometimes comes to the fore to serve as a chief "antagonist" of the solo part. For the flute concerto, it is the boorish trombone which antagonizes the super-elegant flute solo.

Tracks:

Sonata For Piano And Horn, Op. 17: I. Allegro moderato
Sonata For Piano And Horn, Op. 17: II. Poco adagio, quasi andante
Sonata For Piano And Horn, Op. 17: III. Allegro moderato
Auf dem Strome For Soprano, Horn And Piano: Auf dem Strome
Horn Quartet, Op. 20 No. 1: I. Allegro moderato
Horn Quartet, Op. 20 No. 1: II. Adagio
Horn Quartet, Op. 20 No. 1: III. Rondo. Allegro
Adagio, And Allegro, Op. 70 For Piano And Horn: Adagio
Adagio, And Allegro, Op. 70 For Piano And Horn: Allegro
Symphony No. 5 For Horn And Piano: Andante
Concert Rondo In E Flat Major, K.V. 371 For Horn And Piano
Canto serioso For Horn And Piano

Average customer rating:

Thank God for Rosand
Beautiful, moving pieces. Sound a bit muddy.

Romances for Violin and Piano

Manufacturer: Vox (Classical)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

An Inconvenient Truth

ASIN: B000001KDZ
Release Date: 1995-05-23

Tracks:

Romance, Op. 42
Romance, Op. 4
Romance, Op. 78, No. 2
Romance, Op. 11
Romance Oubli
Romance
Romance, Op. 40, No. 1
Romance Sans Paroles, Op. 9, No. 1
Romance, Op. 22, No. 1
Romance, Op. 22, No. 2
Romance, Op. 22, No. 3
Romance, Op. 26
Romance In A Major
Romance, Op. 2
Romance
Violin Concerto No. 2, Op. 22: Romance

Customer Reviews:

Thank God for Rosand.......2003-05-05

If Aaron Rosand was not around, I wonder if any of these obscure romatic compositions would ever get their due? Fortunately, Rosand has been out there for decades, championing music that everyone else seems to ignore.

Most of the composers on this albums are well-known, but not for these pieces. Some composers, like Goldmark & Svendsen, have unjustly fallen into obscurity. However, just because you may never have heard of the piece or the composer does not in any way take away from the quality of the music or the performance.

It helps also that this CD is dirt cheap! When a CD cost so little, it is hard to complain about the sound quality not being quite up to par. Personally, it is something I can live with.

Beautiful, moving pieces. Sound a bit muddy........2002-02-26

A "Romance" is generally a short, lyrical, piece of music, with an emphasis on emotion.

The best of them are stunningly beautiful, and this recording presents a number of the best. The most substantial piece of the set is Dvorák's Romance, which contains just the right blend of beauty and understated drama.

One of the more interesting inclusions on this disc is a set of three short romances by Clara Schumann, known mainly as the wife of the more famous Robert Schumann. Thus, fortunately, the disc is not made up entirely of DWG's (dead white guys). Her own attitude towards her music goes a long way toward explaining why so few women composed. She commented, "...a woman must not desire to compose-not one has been able to do it, and why should I expect to?" (Quoted from the liner-notes). Clara Schumann may not have been one of the great composers, but these little works of hers hold their own against any of the big boys on the disc.

The sound on this disc is a little muddy, but the performances are first rate.

Music Review: