Classic Ross Amico

Tag: Symphony No. 3

Carl Nielsen Awaits Rediscovery

Great Dane or Ugly Duckling? In the case of Carl Nielsen, the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

While Nielsen retains his status as Denmark’s most celebrated composer, internationally, he has had difficulty emerging from the shadow of that other great bard of the North, Jean Sibelius.

This is a shame, since, far from being a Sibelius knock-off, Nielsen forged his own, immediately-recognizable style – which can’t always be said, with as much conviction, about a lot of other fin de siècle Scandinavian composers. Not that I don’t love their music.

Leonard Bernstein believed Nielsen’s rightful place was as Sibelius’ equal.

“I think many people are in for pleasant surprises as they get to know Nielsen,” he said at a centennial celebration of the composer’s birth, “his rough charm, his swing, his drive, his rhythmic surprises, his strange power of harmonic and tonal relationships – and especially his constant unpredictability – all these are irresistible. I feel confident that Nielsen’s time has come.”

Here’s Bernstein, conducting the Danes on their own turf, in what may be my favorite Nielsen symphony, the Symphony No. 3:

That was in 1965. Sadly, fifty-six years on, with many more recordings and performances to choose from, Nielsen’s music remains, stubbornly, an acquired taste. But it is a rewarding one. There really is nothing else quite like it. The puckish wit, the ambiguity, the quirky juxtaposition of seemingly disparate melodies, harmonies, and key signatures, all very often shot through with a sense of hope and optimism that rises above the chaos.

Next to Sibelius, Nielsen doesn’t really have that many imitators. The English composer Robert Simpson was evidently a great admirer of both. This is Simpson’s centenary year. (He was born on March 2, 1921.) His own symphonies often resemble Nielsen’s, but without the big moments.

Simpson’s Symphony No. 2:

Simpson introduces Nielsen:

“Espansiva: A Portrait of Carl Nielsen” (featuring Simpson):

Rare glimpses of Nielsen on film:

Happy birthday, Carl Nielsen, and thanks for the advocacy, Robert Simpson.

June 9, 2021
Sibelius Birthday Memories

EIGHT DAYS OF SIBELIUS, in anticipation of the composer’s birthday anniversary on December 8:

One day, back in the late ‘90s, when I was still an antiquarian bookseller with a weekend full of radio obligations, a stranger wandered into my shop and stood transfixed. Robert Kajanus’ world premiere recording of Sibelius’ Symphony No. 3, set down in 1932, was emanating from the mantle speakers. The man turned to me and remarked upon the quality of the performance. I told him it was Kajanus, which he acknowledged with a nod. Then he introduced himself by saying the music was composed by his grandfather. This is how, by purest chance, I struck up a friendship with Anssi Blomstedt, a documentary filmmaker, then living in Philadelphia, and the youngest grandchild of Jean Sibelius.

Not long after, I made some phone calls and was able to get Anssi into a rehearsal of Simon Rattle conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra in Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5. The ebullient Rattle was overjoyed to meet him. The encounter happened to coincide with an interview Rattle was doing backstage with somebody from Vanity Fair, I think, and somewhere there is a photograph of the future Sir Simon planting a kiss on Anssi’s forehead.

One good turn deserves another, and it was through Anssi that I actually got to meet Einojuhani Rautavaara, back in the year 2000. At the time, Rautavaara was Finland’s most revered living composer. As a young man, he had actually worked as Sibelius’ chauffeur! Now he was in Philadelphia for the first performance of his own Symphony No. 8, subtitled “The Journey.” Anssi took me backstage at the Academy of Music to introduce us. The venerable composer was friendly and obviously amenable to a photograph (taken by Anssi, and posted here, in all its pre-digital glory).

Rautavaara was also kind enough to sign my Naxos CD of his Symphony No. 3, the Piano Concerto No. 1, and the Concerto for Birds and Orchestra, known as “Cantus Arcticus.” I wonder what he thought of this peculiar, 33-year-old, American fan.

It was through Anssi that I also acquired an autographed photo of Sibelius, which he brought back from the composer’s home, Ainola, in Järvenpää, Finland, located 23 miles north of Helsinki. I have yet to come across it since my move to Princeton, but it is around here somewhere! Sometime this week, I’ll try to post a photo of the Sibelius letter I acquired earlier, as a bookseller, which I had framed with a photo of the composer enjoying a good cigar. (The letter is a note of thanks for a box of cigars, one of Sibelius’ notable weaknesses.)

Later, Anssi lived for a time in Easton, PA, another amazing coincidence, since Easton happens to be my hometown. He then moved back to Finland, so it’s been a number of years since we’ve seen one another. I’m thinking today might be a good time to try to reestablish contact.

Sibelius’ Symphony No. 3, conducted by Robert Kajanus:

Probably Einojuhani Rautavaara’s most frequently-heard work, the “Cantus Arcticus,” with bird songs recorded by the composer in the bogs of Liminka, near the Arctic Circle:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmL8oKuefOQ

December 1, 2020
Beethoven My First Love Symphony No 3 Changed Me

Beethoven was my first favorite composer. The Symphony No. 3, “Eroica,” opened up a whole new world for me.

Of course, I was always something of dreamer. By high school, I was listening to all of the symphonies with regularity, sometimes on my trusty Walkman as I trekked to school on a crisp winter morn, or on the turntable while lounging on my bed, after completing my paper route, creating a kind of oasis before dinner.

The Beethoven symphonies filled my head with many strange and adventurous scenarios, though perhaps none were as outlandish as that offered by director John Boorman in his cult classic, “Zardoz” (1974).
“Zardoz” sported long, static shots of a giant, stone head drifting across the sky to the second movement of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony. It also sported a hirsute Sean Connery in bandoliers and diaper. Just try to get that image out of your head.

Then join me at 4:00 for a performance I discovered as a teenager and have cherished ever since.

I’ll be with you for Symphonies Nos. 7, 8 & 9, to wrap up our Beethoven birthday marathon, from 4 to 7 p.m. EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVakHZp5ZBE

December 16, 2019
Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony WWFM Birthday Bash

BEETHOVEN BIRTHDAY BASH

WWFM – The Classical Network’s symphony marathon continues, with the shot heard ‘round the musical world.

NOW PLAYING: Symphony No. 3 in E flat major “Eroica” (Concertgebouw Orchestra/Erich Kleiber)

Twice as long as the standard “classical” symphony of the 18th century and encompassing a much broader emotional range, Beethoven’s 3rd Symphony was written in a euphoria of political idealism. The composer had been a great admirer of Napoleon Bonaparte, believing him to embody the democratic ideals of the French Revolution; but when Napoleon declared himself emperor, Beethoven tore up the original dedication in a fury. The work was published as “Heroic Symphony, composed to celebrate the memory of a great man.”

Support the broadcast of this great symphony by calling 1-888-232-1212, or by donating online at wwfm.org.

Thank you for your generous contribution!

December 16, 2019
Elgar’s Third: A Symphony Realized

What can I say? I’m a man of contradictions.

Still fairly close on the heels of last Saturday’s post in which I expressed my reservations surrounding the completion of Mahler’s Tenth Symphony, here I am, celebrating the realization of Elgar’s sketches for an unfinished Third.

This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” we’ll have a remarkably vivid piece of wishful thinking.

Sir Edward Elgar produced no major works following the death of his wife in 1920. It was his friend and champion, George Bernard Shaw, who, in an attempt to keep one of England’s greatest composers from withering on the vine, persuaded the BBC to commission from Elgar a Third Symphony.
Elgar, who died in 1934, worked at the piece during the last year of his life, jotting down his ideas – some merely a few bars in length; others, pages in full score. As his health deteriorated, he realized he would never be able to complete the work, and he made contradictory remarks concerning his intentions over the fate of the sketches.

Another of his friends, the violinist W.H. Reed, passed many hours playing through what existed of the piece, with the composer at the piano. After Elgar’s death, Reed published 40 pages worth of sketches into a memoir, which kept the work at the periphery of the public consciousness.

Several attempts were made over the decades to make something more of the sketches, but musicians and musicologists were always stopped short by the Elgar estate.

The composer Anthony Payne became interested in the fragments in 1972. For many years, he worked at a realization of the piece, again meeting resistance from Elgar’s heirs, until it became apparent that, due to the publication of the sketches in Reed’s book, the material would soon fall into the public domain. The family opted to capitalize on what control it had left and finally authorized Payne’s efforts.

His realization was given its premiere in 1998 and granted broad exposure through performances by major orchestras, particularly in England and the United States (including the Philadelphia Orchestra), and the piece has been recorded at least four times.

The formal title is “Edward Elgar: The Sketches for Symphony No. 3, Elaborated by Anthony Payne” – known for short as the “Elgar/Payne Symphony No. 3.” You’ll have a chance to hear it tonight.

I guess the reason I am so forgiving of Elgar’s Third is because at no level is anyone trying to pass it off as Elgar’s actual symphony. Rather, it is a fascinating amalgam that manages both to recall Elgar and bring out the best in Payne. The two creative voices mix remarkably well to form a cohesive work of art.

I hope you’ll join me for “No Payne, No Gain,” this Sunday night at 10:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

PHOTOS: A Payne on Elgar’s side

September 22, 2019

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