Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5 London Symphony Orchestra & Sir Colin Davis

• Carl Nielsen (1865 - 1931): Symphony No. 4, Op. 29, FS 76 "The Inextinguishable":
• 1 I. Allegro 09:56
• 2 II. Poco allegretto 04:31
• 3 III. Poco adagio quasi andante 08:36
• 4 IV. Allegro 08:16
• Symphony No. 5, Op. 50, FS 97:
• 5 I. Tempo giusto 10:40
• 6 II. Adagio 10:16
• 7 III. Allegro 14:20
• Total Runtime 01:06:35

Info for Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5

Despite having been an admirer of the music of Danish composer Carl Nielsen for many years, Sir Colin Davis has rarely conducted any of his works. Now, at the age of 83, Sir Colin embarks on a complete cycle of the composer’s symphonies.

Although Carl Nielsen is frequently compared to his near contemporary Jean Sibelius, each composer’s music is equally individual. Both were celebrated symphonists but used the potential of an orchestra in different ways. Despite giving titles to the majority of his symphonies, Nielsen was often vague about the specific themes for each work. However his music is always direct, dynamic and lyrical.

Sir Colin’s traversal of the symphonies began in concert in 2009. He will conduct the remaining symphonies in 2011 with two further LSO Live releases following in 2012.

“Nielsen’s music could have been written for the LSO: the orchestra’s robust sound and free-spirited temperament suit this symphony’s virtuoso demands and visceral dynamism.

Davis, too, is attuned to Nielsen’s brand of Beethovenian conflict. Davis conducted it with the vitality of someone worthy of the symphony’s title, the ‘Inextinguishable’” Financial Times

“this account of the “Inextinguishable” confirmed he and the LSO have something special to offer … he produced an account of fabulous coherence” (The Guardian)

“Forget old dogs and new tricks, clearly it’s never too late to embark upon a new repertoire strand … this was an auspicious start. I reckon the maestro shed 40 years during this performance” (The Independent)

"Both these interpretations, recorded live at the Barbican, surge along with the full-throated splendour that is a London Symphony Orchestra trademark. In the magnificent Fifth Symphony...Davis's control of pace unfolds a performance of wonderful, unexaggerated drama and humanity, as fine as any I've heard." (Classic FM Magazine)

"At last! Nielsen's two best-known symphonies in modern performances with real fire in their belly...[Davis] brings such animal excitement to the task, such a thrilling sense of discovery and existential danger...Davis shows a remarkable instinct for the paradoxical complexity of the moment in Nielsen, as well as for the broader trajectory of his musical thinking." (Gramophone Magazine)

"This is music in which the creative act is no longer a virtue but a necessity, and it is this unequivocal aspect Davis conveys in a performance which maintains onward drive at all costs...With forward yet sonorous SACD sound that is among the best that LSO Live has yet achieved, this disc bodes well for the rest of Davis's Nielsen cycle over the coming year." (International Record Review)

London Symphony Orchestra
Sir Colin Davis, conductor

Sir Colin Davis
The traditional road to success for a conductor used to be an apprenticeship in an opera house as a coach, playing the piano for singers in rehearsal. Colin Davis chose another route, partly by necessity. Unable to play the piano, he was not allowed into the conducting course at the Royal College of Music in London. So, he achieved an important international career by taking the initiative to form ensembles and conduct for friends at first. Early successes included the founding of the Chelsea Opera Group, a company which to this day gives performances of little known operas in concert.

Davis was soon working with professional orchestras including the BBC Scottish Symphony. His first ‘break’ was at Sadler’s Wells in 1958 when his conducting of Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio began a lifelong connection with that composer. The Edinburgh Festival followed along with Glyndebourne. His concert career blossomed in the mid 1960′s alongside his opera work and his other passion for Berlioz began to bring him to the attention of record lovers. He has recorded all the major works of Berlioz, including the first complete (and still regarded as the landmark) recording of Les Troyens.

Davis has enjoyed a career-long affiliation with Philips Classics, recording along with Berlioz, Mozart, the complete symphonies of Sibelius (while he was Principal Guest Conductor of the Boston Symphony in the 1970s) and much more.

Booklet for Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5