Nielsen Symphony No.3 ‘Sinfonia Espansiva’ op.27
Ruth Güldbæk (soprano); Eric Sjøberg (baritone)
John Frandsen (conductor)
Danish State Radio Symphony Orchestra
Recorded 3-5 March 1955JOHN FR A NDSEN (CONDUC TOR )

Nielsen Symphony No.6 ‘Sinfonia Semplice’
Thomas Jensen (conductor)
Danish State Radio Symphony Orchestra
Recorded in the Concert Hall of Danish Radio, Copenhagen on 17-19 June 1952

Nielsen Moderen (The Mother) – incidental music to Helge Rode’s play
Emil Reesen (conductor)
Danish State Radio Symphony Orchestra
Recorded in the Concert Hall of Danish Radio, Copenhagen on 5 November 1946

Two of the leading Danish conductors of the 1950s are featured on this release, in performances of music by Carl Nielsen. Thomas Jensen could in fact claim a link back to the composer: he had both studied with Nielsen and played under his baton, and was said to have retained a clear impression of the composer’s tempi and style. His interpretation of Symphony no.6 ‘Sinfonia Semplice’, heard here in a 1952 recording, is therefore suitably authoritative. The 1955 recording of Symphony no.3 ‘Sinfonia Espansiva’, reissued here, was especially interesting because it helped consolidate the reputation of a newer name in Danish music, the conductor John Frandsen. Like his Danish compatriots, Frandsen never achieved a significant reputation outside Scandinavia, though within Denmark he became a considerable force. His interpretation displays a justness of tempi and authentic feeling for the music. The incidental music that Nielsen composed for Helge Rode’s play Moderen (The Mother[land]) consists of some instrumental pieces and several songs, the latter once sung unforgettably on record by Aksel Schiøtz. The two purely orchestral excerpts included on this release enable us to recall the name of Emil Reesen, one of the Danish State Radio Symphony Orchestra’s founder conductors in 1925.

CDBP 9796