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Nielsen: Songs For Choir / Ars Nova Copenhagen

Dacapo Classical

Available as SACD

$16.99

Feb 10, 2015

“It is strange that when I write these simple melodies, it is as if I am not the composer – it is people from my childhood or the Danish people who want something through me.” Thus said Carl Nielsen (1865-1931), who was devoted to renewing the Danish song tradition and whose melodies are still at the heart of Danish community song today. On this recording, Ars Nova Copenhagen presents a selection of Nielsen’s most popular songs under conductor Michael Bojesen.

Nielsen: Songs For Choir / Ars Nova Copenhagen

$16.99
SACD

Dacapo Classical

Feb 10, 2015

6220569

Nielsen: Flute Concerto, Clarinet Concerto & Aladdin Suite / Coles, van de Wiel, Jarvi, Philharmonia

Signum Classics

Available as CD

~~$19.99~~ $14.99

Mar 03, 2017

After completing a quintet for wind instruments in 1922 that would become one of his most celebrated works, Carl Nielsen hit upon the ideas of writing a full orchestral concerto for each of the instruments included in that quintet. Nielsen certainly unlocked something in those five individual instruments that few composers had before him o rindeed would after. "Now I think on the basis of instruments themselves...in a way I creep into them" he wrote around the time of the quintet; "it can surely be said that instruments have a soul". The two concertos of the planned five that did materialize - for flute and clarinet - certainly echo those sentiments. The Philharmonia Orchestra is one fo the world's great orchestras. Widely acknowledged for its pioneering approach to the role of an orchestra in the 21st century, the Philharmonia leads the field for the quality of its playing and its innovative work with residencies, music education, audience development and the use of new technology to reach a global audience.

-----

REVIEW:

Paavo Järvi presides over a splendidly stylish and invigorating Nielsen anthology featuring the Philharmonia at the top of its game throughout. Both concerto performances deserve the widest plaudits. First-rate annotations and production values add to the attractions of a thoroughly recommendable release.

– Gramophone

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Nielsen: Flute Concerto, Clarinet Concerto & Aladdin Suite / Coles, van de Wiel, Jarvi, Philharmonia

~~$19.99~~ $14.99
CD

Signum Classics

Mar 03, 2017

SIGCD477

A Danish Christmas - Carols By Nielsen, Gade, Et Al / Holten

Naxos

Available as CD

~~$19.99~~ $13.99

Jul 01, 2000

Includes christmas carol(s) by various composers. Ensemble: Musica Ficta Vocal Ensemble Copenhagen. Conductor: Bo Holten.
Includes work(s) by Carl Nielsen (Composer), Niels Gade, Christoph Ernst F. Weyse, Johan Peter E. Hartmann, Peter E. Lange-Müller. Ensemble: Musica Ficta Vocal Ensemble Copenhagen. Conductor: Bo Holten.

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A Danish Christmas - Carols By Nielsen, Gade, Et Al / Holten

~~$19.99~~ $13.99
CD

Naxos

Jul 01, 2000

8554627

Nielsen, C.: Symphonies, Vol. 3 - Nos. 4, "The Inextinguisha

Naxos

Available as CD

$19.99

Jun 30, 2009

The most important Danish composer of the first third of the twentieth century, Carl Nielsen was prolific in almost all genres. The six Symphonies are essentially tonal, emotionally direct works, which alternate long lines of melody with passages of blazing energy. The idea of writing a symphony based on the Four Temperaments – The Choleric, The Sanguine, The Melancholic, and The Phlegmatic, came to Nielsen when he saw a primitive peasant painting in a village inn. The title of the Third Symphony, Sinfonie espansiva, an afterthought, has been explained as an expansion of the scope of the mind and of the life that comes with it.

Nielsen, C.: Symphonies, Vol. 3 - Nos. 4, "The Inextinguisha

$19.99
CD

Naxos

Jun 30, 2009

8570739

Jones: String Quartet No. 1; Wind Quintet; Nielsen: Aladdin,

First Hand Records

Available as CD

~~$21.99~~ $16.99

Nov 08, 2024

This recording contains two compostions by Welsh composer Matthew Owain Jones, String Quartet No. 1, 'Deletia' and Wind Quintet along with his arrangement of nine movements from Carl Nielsen's ballet Aladdin, Op. 63 for chamber ensemble. All three works on this album are premiere recordings and performed by Denmark's leading chamber ensemble Ensemble MidtVest. Jones is widely regarded as a unique, visionary musician and educator. Alongside composition, Jones is one of the leading violists and violinists of his time, recording 25 solo and chamber albums to date, premiering numerous concertos and commissioning dozens of works.

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Jones: String Quartet No. 1; Wind Quintet; Nielsen: Aladdin,

~~$21.99~~ $16.99
CD

First Hand Records

Nov 08, 2024

FHR163

Nielsen: Piano music

SOMM Recordings

Available as CD

~~$32.99~~ $24.99

Mar 01, 2015

Incomparable composer and pianist John McCabe, who passed away in February 2015, had recorded Nielsen's Piano Music on LP for Decca's Ace of Diamonds back in 1975. More recently, the SOMM label was approached by John's wife, Monica McCabe, to ask if they would consider issuing it on CD. From an early age, John loved to explore little-known works and considered Nielsen's Suite, Op. 45 a true masterpiece. The piano music of Nielsen, whose 150th anniversary is celebrated this year, is overshadowed by his six symphonies but his piano music has always had a special place in the hearts of music lovers worldwide. These recordings have been unavailable for many years; now newly re-mastered, they are given a new lease on life and serve as a timely reminder of McCabe's unique interpretations.

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Nielsen: Piano music

~~$32.99~~ $24.99
CD

SOMM Recordings

Mar 01, 2015

SOMMCD 0146-2

Beavers, Debussy, Mendelssohn, Nielsen & Schifrin: Saga

Audite Musikproduktion

Available as CD

~~$20.99~~ $15.99

Apr 19, 2024

The ARUNDO quintet shines with virtuosic expressiveness and a variety of sounds in the classical lineup of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horn. On its second CD, "Saga," the ensemble brings to life four varied worlds of sound that immediately stimulate the imagination. Claude Debussy's colorful re-creations of a bygone ideal, Carl Nielsen's play with the diversity of human characters, and Lalo Schifrin's reinterpretation of the New Orleans style have long accompanied the ensemble and have become part of its own history as "heartfelt pieces." As with the highly acclaimed debut CD, "Origin," the ARUNDO quintet has commissioned a new work from the American composer Kevin Beavers: The "saga" continues…

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Beavers, Debussy, Mendelssohn, Nielsen & Schifrin: Saga

~~$20.99~~ $15.99
CD

Audite Musikproduktion

Apr 19, 2024

ADT97812

Nielsen: Works for Violin, Vol. 2

DB Productions

Available as CD

$18.99

Nov 13, 2015

The 150th birthday of the Danish iconoclastic composer Carl Nielsen is celebrated with the second volume of his works for violin featuring one of Sweden's brightest new violinists, Cecilia Zilliacus joined by the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Daniel Blendulf.

Nielsen: Works for Violin, Vol. 2

$18.99
CD

DB Productions

Nov 13, 2015

DBCD162

NIELSEN, C.: String Quartets, Vol. 2

Naxos

Available as CD

$19.99

Mar 01, 2000

NIELSEN, C.: String Quartets, Vol. 2

NIELSEN, C.: String Quartets, Vol. 2

$19.99
CD

Naxos

Mar 01, 2000

8553908

Nielsen: Helios; Clarinet Concerto; Symphony No. 5

Chandos

Available as SACD

$21.99

Sep 05, 2025

Edward Gardner's series of Nielsen symphonies with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra continues with this recording of No. 5, complemented with the overture Helios and the Clarinet Concerto, featuring Alessandro Carbonare as soloist. Nielsen composed Helios in 1903 on a trip to Greece, as his wife, Anne Marie, a sculptor, had won a grant to copy sculptures on the Acropolis. Over it's ten-twelve-minute duration, the work depicts sunrise, noontime, and then sunset over the Aegean Sea, and is one of the composer's most performed works. The Clarinet Concerto dates from 1928 and is cast in one long movement falling into four sections. It is dedicated to Nielsen's friend Aage Oxenvad who gave the first performance. Composed between 1920 and 1922, the Fifth Symphony is unusually laid out in just two movements - the only piece by Nielsen to adopt this structure. Unlike his other mature symphonies, the fifth lacks a subtitle, and so could be considered to be more 'pure music' compared to the descriptive nature of the others. Nielsen described the symphony as 'the division of dark and light, the battle between evil and good' and the opposition between 'Dreams and Deeds'. Considered by many as a "war symphony", Nielsen insisted that he had not been thinking of World War I whilst he was composing the work, but also commented "not one of us is the same as we were before the war".

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Nielsen: Helios; Clarinet Concerto; Symphony No. 5

$21.99
SACD

Chandos

Sep 05, 2025

CHSA 5314

Nielsen: Songs, Violin Sonata No. 2 & Commotio

Danacord

Available as CD

$18.99

Feb 12, 2002

Classical Music

Nielsen: Songs, Violin Sonata No. 2 & Commotio

$18.99
CD

Danacord

Feb 12, 2002

DACOCD588

Hindemith, Nielsen, Pärt & Tomasi: Elements / Belfiato Quintet

Supraphon

Available as CD

~~$31.99~~ $23.99

Apr 08, 2022

The pieces featured on the present album are staples of Belfiato Quintet’s modern repertoire and are, above all, music close to their heart. Each of them occupies a special position in the ensemble’s history. Carl Nielsen’s Wind Quintet is the very first work they explored and performed, while their rendition of Cinq danses profanes et sacrées at the 2011 Henri Tomasi International Woodwind Quintet Competition in Marseille earned the prize for the best interpretation of a Tomasi composition. And the other works included on the album have played significant roles in the ensemble’s career too. The five pieces, dating from between 1922 and 1964, represent their creators’ specific “elements”, as well as the diverse music traditions of their native countries. Yet the album’s title may also refer to five highly distinct figures who – perhaps precisely owing to their being so distinct – form a superbly harmonized ensemble that possesses a remarkable variety of tone quality and shades of expression. Belfiato Quintet are indisputably a world-class ensemble, with regard to the present album’s repertoire and beyond. Belfiato Quintet – five elements chiming in perfect harmony.

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Hindemith, Nielsen, Pärt & Tomasi: Elements / Belfiato Quintet

~~$31.99~~ $23.99
CD

Supraphon

Apr 08, 2022

SU4310-2

Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 / Norrington, Southwest Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart

SWR

Available as CD

$20.99

Oct 14, 2022

Among the early 20th century composers involved in the transition from romanticism to modernism, Carl Nielsen was particularly conspicuous for his originality which deviated from everything known and was perceived at the time as downright provocative. Today we see in Carl Nielsen’s six symphonies – all as strikingly different from one another – consistent genre contributions of unique and outstanding importance. Yet Nielsen’s international breakthrough only began in the 1950s and today his works are still far from being commonplace in our concert halls. The Symphony No. 4 was considered by the composer himself as one of his best works and it is until today one his most performed ones. The Symphony No. 2 was inspired by paintings in a pub, showing grotesquely exaggerated depictions of the four human character archetypes. Listeners shouldn’t be surprised that there’s a lot more humor at play here than is apparent in most other works.

The Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1945 and in the following seven decades became one of the most important musical ambassadors of Germany. World-renowned conductors, as well as some of the world’s greatest soloists, have been guests, including: Carlos Kleiber, Kurt Sanderling, Maria Callas, Yehudi Menuhin, Alfred Brendel, and Lang Lang. Sir Roger Norrington has worked at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden and at the English National Opera, with the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Wiener Philharmoniker, the Concertgebouw Orchester as well as many renowned British and American orchestras.

Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4 / Norrington, Southwest Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart

$20.99
CD

SWR

Oct 14, 2022

SWR19120CD

Nielsen, C.: Maskarade (Masquerade)

Dacapo Classical

Available as SACD

$29.99

Feb 22, 2005

Nielsen, C.: Maskarade (Masquerade)

Nielsen, C.: Maskarade (Masquerade)

$29.99
SACD

Dacapo Classical

Feb 22, 2005

6220507-08

Nielsen & Sibelius: Violin Concertos / Dalene, Storgårds, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic

BIS

Available as SACD

~~$21.99~~ $15.99

Mar 04, 2022

A Gramophone Editor's Pick, shortlisted for the Gramophone Awards!

Carl Nielsen and Jean Sibelius, alongside Grieg the two giants in Nordic classical music, were both born in 1865. Both also received their first musical training on the violin, earning valuable insights when it came to writing for the instrument. Their respective violin concertos were composed some six years apart – Sibelius’ in 1904-05 and Nielsen’s in 1911 – and belong to the most performed works of either composer. They are nevertheless as different from each other as are the artistic temperaments of their makers. While retaining the traditional three-movement concerto form, Sibelius composed something closer to a Late-Romantic orchestral tone poem giving the orchestra unusual prominence. Nielsen on the other hand opted for an unconventional form, reminiscent of the Baroque concerto grosso: the spiky, neoclassical work is nominally in two movements, but with each movement having a slow and a fast section. These works are here performed by Johan Dalene, the Swedish-Norwegian winner of the 2019 Nielsen Competition. The present disc is the 21 year old violinist’s third release on BIS, following a recording of the Tchaikovsky Concerto described as ‘one of the finest violin débuts of the last decade’ in BBC Music Magazine, and an all-Nordic violin-and-piano recital awarded distinctions such as Diapason d’or and Gramophone’s Editor’s Choice. Dalene is given the expert support of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor John Storgårds, incidentally a violin soloist in his own right.

REVIEWS:

"Dalene returns to a work we already know he excels in, and this deeply intuitive, instinctive and empathetic recording again demonstrates his remarkable touch and feel, and the way he balances discipline and playfulness." -The Sunday Times

"For my money, there’s no finer coupling of these highly contrasting yet much-associated concertos on record. I suspect the individual performances could well prove superlative for many listeners, too." -Gramophone

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Nielsen & Sibelius: Violin Concertos / Dalene, Storgårds, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic

~~$21.99~~ $15.99
SACD

BIS

Mar 04, 2022

BIS-2620

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 1; Nielsen: Symphony No. 5 (Live)

ICA Classics

Available as CD

$20.99

Jun 20, 2025

Jascha Horenstein (1898-1973) was born in Kiev but studied in Vienna. After a move to Berlin, he became Wilhelm Furtwangler's assistant and during the 1920s he conducted both the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic. At this time, he came into contact with Schoenberg, Stravinsky and Nielsen. In 1929, Horenstein became the music director of the Dusseldorf Opera but, with the outset of war, he settled in the US. He conducted some of the major orchestras there but returned to Europe in 1947, where he was much in demand including a close association with the LSO. He is best remembered for his outstanding Mahler and Bruckner performances but, being Russian, he conducted Shostakovich who he knew, and because of his early links with Nielsen, both composers were featured throughout his life.

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 1; Nielsen: Symphony No. 5 (Live)

$20.99
CD

ICA Classics

Jun 20, 2025

ICAC5184

MASKERADE (OPERN (GA),DEUTSCH)

Capriccio

Available as DVD

$18.99

Jan 01, 2000

MASKERADE (OPERN (GA),DEUTSCH)

MASKERADE (OPERN (GA),DEUTSCH)

$18.99
DVD

Capriccio

Jan 01, 2000

C93512

Nielsen: Symphonies No 2 & 3 / Schonwandt

Naxos

Available as CD

~~$19.99~~ $9.99

Jun 24, 2008

A real bargain and the best way to have these symphonies at very affordable cost.

This release is in many ways even more attractive than volume 1, containing the Symphonies Nos. 1 and 6 and reviewed here earlier. For those who do not know Nielsen’s music, this would be the perfect place to start.

Both of these symphonies represent the composer at the height of his maturity and both contain many memorable tunes. They are also very well orchestrated and contain both power and poetry. There is not a dull moment in either symphony. Highlights include the Allegro comodo e flemmatico second movement of the Second Symphony and the Andante pastorale second movement of the Third Symphony with its ethereal vocalise by tenor and soprano. But then there is also the Third’s first movement with its great waltz and the symphony’s noble finale. Likewise, the Second has one of the most joyous finales I know of.

Schønwandt and his Danish forces have the measure of both symphonies and for my money beat out the competition in both. The main rival for these works, as with the symphonies in volume 1, is Herbert Blomstedt and the San Francisco Symphony on Decca. I did an A/B comparison and feel that the balance is just tipped in Schønwandt’s favor. There is a certain rightness, a natural pace, that’s hard to explain, but is definitely there in these accounts. Furthermore, the warmth of the Danish Radio Concert Hall is a real advantage in these particular works — not as crucial in the Sixth Symphony, though. At the same time, there is a clarity and lightness that allows all the detail to register. Blomstedt’s accounts tend to be more brilliant, as is Decca’s sound, and at times can seem a little relentless. For example, his faster tempo for the Second Symphony’s finale pushes the music a little harder than Schønwandt’s slightly slower, but clearer version. Also, the sound as recorded in San Francisco’s Davies Hall can get muddy in the bass and make the textures clotted. Schønwandt sets an ideal tempo in this movement and there is a real feeling of joy in this Allegro sanguineo. I still like the Blomstedt performances of these works for their power and the brilliance of the orchestra. For example, those horns in the waltz climax of the Third Symphony’s first movement are pretty spectacular, even if Schønwandt’s more backwardly balanced ones (at 6:09) allow the rest of the orchestra to come through better. Schønwandt also achieves a perfect placement with his vocal soloists in this symphony. They are treated as instruments and blend well with the rest of the orchestra, creating a feeling of distance. Nonetheless, I would not want to be without either recording of these works. Then there is Myung-Whun Chung’s highly regarded BIS recording of the Second Symphony (see review) coupled with the Aladdin Suite to be considered. I haven’t heard that one for a number of years, but it was also high in my affections.

A couple of extra-musical details should be mentioned. First, the order of the works as listed above is the order on the disc. Why they placed the Symphony No. 3 ahead of No. 2 is a mystery. However, it also followed this order on the original Dacapo CD. It really does not matter as the player can be programmed to play in either order, if one were wanting to hear the works in the sequence in which they were composed. Second, as in the earlier Naxos disc mentioned above, the notes in the booklet are briefer and less detailed than on the original release — but very good all the same. Finally, since I have a copy of the Dacapo disc, I was able to do a sound comparison. I heard no difference between the original and the new budget release.

This, then, is a real bargain and the best way to have these symphonies at a very affordable cost. Indeed, I would recommend them at any price!

-- Leslie Wright, MusicWeb International

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Nielsen: Symphonies No 2 & 3 / Schonwandt

~~$19.99~~ $9.99
CD

Naxos

Jun 24, 2008

8570738

The Danish Romanticism

Kontrapunkt

Available as CD

~~$22.99~~ $17.99

Jan 15, 1994

This CD is a historical sequel to “The Danish Golden Age-Works for Mixed Choir a cappella” KPT 32068 documenting the rather forgotten period of the first three decades of the 20th century. The works presented here are by the Romantic composers who, in spite of the high quality of their achievement, sunk into obscurity due to the reformist movement in that period initiated by Carl Nielsen.

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The Danish Romanticism

~~$22.99~~ $17.99
CD

Kontrapunkt

Jan 15, 1994

KON 32173

Nielsen: Aladdin Suite, Etc / Willen, Et Al

Naxos

Available as CD

$19.99

Aug 16, 2005

Carl Nielsen's "other" orchestral music includes a number of overtures and tone poems that on recordings usually show up appended to performances of his six symphonies. This primarily theatrical music reveals a surprisingly fantastical side to the composer's imagination, freed from the strictures of symphonic form. This is especially evident in the Aladdin Suite, where Nielsen concocts some fetching and convincingly authentic-sounding Arabian melodies, all lavished with exotic orchestral coloring. Dance rhythms abound, punctuated by spiky percussion. Niklás Willén and his South Jutland Symphony players effectively capture the distinctly-drawn moods of widely varied movements, though Esa-Pekka Salonen's Sony recording bristles with an energy and excitement (especially in the Festival March and Negro Dance) that's less apparent here.

Atmosphere again is Willén's strong suit as he evokes the mystical realms of Saga-Dream and Pan and Syrinx while deftly rendering the Helios Overture's stirring drama. Maskarade's bright comedy comes across effectively (though Järvi is unmatched for sheer exuberance). Finally, the brief Cupid and the Poet is from Nielsen's late style, sounding very much like his quirky and tonally ambiguous Clarinet Concerto. Overall, this is a fine set of performances, and it's great to have all these Nielsen gems together on one disc. Naxos' big-hall perspective is somewhat distant, but the sound-picture fills out nicely at those big, brassy climaxes.
--Victor Carr Jr, ClassicsToday.com

Nielsen: Aladdin Suite, Etc / Willen, Et Al

$19.99
CD

Naxos

Aug 16, 2005

8557164

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