Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 6 Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra & Sakari Oramo

• Carl Nielsen (1865 – 1931): Symphony No. 2:
• 1I. Allegro collerico08:51
• 2II. Allegro comodo e flemmatico04:27
• 3III. Andante malincolico10:43
• 4IV. Allegro sanguineo07:09
• Symphony No. 6, ‘Sinfonia Semplice’:
• 5I. Tempo giusto12:43
• 6II. Humoreske: Allegretto03:56
• 7III. Proposta seria: Adagio05:07
• 8IV. Tema con variazioni10:29
• Total Runtime01:03:25

Info for Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 6

The last instalment of the Nielsen Symphonies cycle with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and Sakari Oramo opens with the composer’s Symphony No. 2, ‘The Four Temperaments’, dating from 1901–02. Its origins were in an allegorical picture Nielsen came across in a country inn, illustrating the four temperaments of man as defined in Greco-Roman medicine: anger, apathy, melancholy and carefree abandon. But Nielsen was incapable of drawing anything other than a rounded character-portrait, and consequently the fiery first movement also allows for lyrical episodes, there are moments of stoic nobility in the melancholy, and the march that conclude the sanguine finale is imbued with a certain dignity. 23 years later the composer completed his sixth and final symphony, the Sinfonia semplice (‘Simple Symphony’). In the meantime, the Fourth and Fifth symphonies had brought Nielsen the greatest measure of professional recognition he ever enjoyed in his lifetime. In spite of its subtitle, Symphony No. 6 baffled its audiences, however. When beginning to work on it Nielsen had envisaged a work that would be ‘quite idyllic in character’ – something that is borne out by the opening bars. But by the time he arrived at the last movement, Theme and variations, the work had taken a different course, and as Nielsen later told a friend, the ninth and last variation, scored for tuba and percussion, represents ‘death knocking at the door’.

„Sakari Oramo's cycle of Nielsen symphonies for the BIS label draws to a triumphant, blistering close with The Four Temperaments and Sinfonia Semplice , radically different pieces separated by 22 years but with parallels exploited to the full by the wonderfully responsive Stockholm players. For example, the second symphony s beautifully evocative third Sakari Oramo's cycle of Nielsen symphonies for the BIS label draws to a triumphant, blistering close with The Four Temperaments and Sinfonia Semplice , radically different pieces separated by 22 years but with parallels exploited to the full by the wonderfully responsive Stockholm players. For example, the second symphony s beautifully evocative third movement (the melancholic temperament) is mirrored by the anxiety of the adagio of the last symphony. Oramo is totally in control, letting the panic of the first movement of the sixth take hold with alarming speed but also giving the orchestra space to breathe, as in the broad first movement of The Four Temperaments , allowing its rich, full-bodied sound to overwhelm us.“ (Guardian)

„The sheer zestiness of the outer movements is thoroughly infectious, with Oramo plainly revelling in the rhythmic imperative of this music and his orchestra, the Stockholm Philharmonic, always right on the tip of his baton. Gramophone,June'15 /// Not only is Sakari Oramo utterly at home and in control in these two brilliant, at times startlingly variegated works, he draws them close together than o would have thought possible.“ (BBC Music Magazine)

„Few composers' music can blow away the cobwebs quite like that of Carl Nielsen, and David Fanning's sleeve note to this BIS disc rightly describes him as the greatest life-affirmer in the 20th-century symphonic tradition . It's been a joy to watch Nielsen's stock rise in recent years, and John Storgårds' new cycle of the symphonies has just appeared in the wake of Alan Gilbert's blazing New York Philharmonic set. This disc of Symphonies 2 and 6 is the final instalment of Sakari Oramo's series, and I'm tempted to conclude that it's the most consistently satisfying of all. No conductor nails each symphony's distinct character with such skill and humanity. And, as a depiction of humanity's foibles, few works are as entertaining as Nielsen's Symphony No. 2, subtitled The Four Temperaments . Oramo's bounding energy in the opening Allegro collerico is arresting, allied with a winning flexibility of tempo. Nielsen's quirky shifts between duple and triple time are seamlessly handled. This music rises and subsides as if it's catching breath before the next fiery outburst. There's a startling burp of indignation a minute before the movement ends; Oramo catches the moment better than anyone. Nielsen's deliberately aimless scherzo charms, and the solemn slow movement scales Brucknerian heights. All terrific, capped by a finale with the most uplifting and transformative of codas. Nielsen's 6th is a harder nut to crack, a peculiarly complex Sinfonia Semplice . Repeated listenings highlight links to other, better-known works the first movement's dissonant climax recalls that of Mahler 10, and the inventive percussion writing anticipates Shostakovich. Full-bodied strings lend real weight to the Tempo giusto's more anguished outbursts, and its close is quietly devastating. Oramo's middle movements are appropriately disquieting, and the unsettling Theme and Variations unfold with assurance. The coda is pleasingly upbeat in Oramo's performance, the bassoons' pedal note a neat way to end a symphonic career. Superb sound, and virtuosic playing from the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic.“ (ArtsDesk)

Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Sakari Oramo, conductor

Sakari Oramo
is Chief Conductor of both the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, and Principal Conductor of the West Coast Kokkola Opera and the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra. Between 1998 and 2008 he was Music Director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and after a decade as chief conductor of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, he has now served as their Honorary Conductor since 2012. He is a regular guest conductor at the NDR Sinfonieorchester and Wiener Philharmoniker.

His work with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in the 2015/16 season continues to champion the promotion of new works with UK Premieres of Norman’s Percussion Concerto, Switch, and Clyne’s Violin Concerto, The Seamstress; presented alongside the major works of Richard Strauss in the autumn and Elgar’s Symphonies in the spring. Other highlights of the season include a European tour with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and Lisa Batiashvili; a Sibelius cycle with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe at the Turku Festival and concerts with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.

The previous season included performances with the New York Philharmonic, concerts with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and a performance with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. In celebration of Sibelius and Nielsen’s 150th birthdays he worked with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic in curating the world’s largest Sibelius/Nielsen festival, performing with them in three landmark concerts (including the opening and grand finale). He also conducted the BBC Symphony in their critically acclaimed Nielsen cycle, which saw them perform all of Nielsen’s symphonies at London’s Barbican Hall, with The Guardian commenting that the cycle “has turned out to be one of the highlights of the current London season.” During the summer of 2015 he conducted several Proms performances with the orchestra, including the First Night, following his hugely successful performance at the Last Night in 2014.

An accomplished violinist, Oramo was originally concertmaster of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and gives several performances a year as a violinist. In 2014 he made his debut in the BBC Proms Chamber Music series, performing Prokofiev’s Sonata for Two Violins with Janine Jansen.

Recent recording successes include Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the BBC Symphony and Javier Perianes and Nørgård’s Symphonies Nos.1 & 8 with the Wiener Philharmoniker. He has recently released three discs of Nielsen symphonies with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic which together complete their highly acclaimed Nielsen cycle.

Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (RSPO) celebrated its 110th anniversary in 2012 and, with its already rich history, continues to perform to international critical acclaim under its current Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor Sakari Oramo. Oramo was appointed in 2008, with his present contract lasting until 2018.

Founded in 1902 as the Stockholm Concert Society, the orchestra became a permanent ensemble in 1914 and made its international debut in Norway in 1917 with first Chief Conductor, Georg Schnéevoigt. In 1933 the orchestra performed under Arturo Toscanini in Copenhagen and in 1937 appeared together with Jussi Björling at the World Exhibition in Paris. Other legendary artists and conductors who have performed with the orchestra both at home and abroad include Birgit Nilsson, Nicolai Gedda, Bruno Walter, Wilhelm Furtwangler, Leopold Stokowski, Ferenc Fricsay, Otto Klemperer, Rafael Kubelík, Sir Georg Solti and Rudolf Kempe who conducted the orchestra in 1975 with a young Gidon Kremer as soloist – the violinist’s first official concert outside the Soviet Union.

To date the orchestra has been led by 15 Principal Conductors including Vaclav Talich (1925-37), Fritz Busch (1937-1940), Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt (1955-1964), Antal Dorati (1966-1974) and Gennady Rozhdestvensky who directed the orchestra from 1974-1977 and returned in 1991 for a further four years.

It was with Antal Dorati that the RSPO began to make its more permanent mark on the international scene. Together they embarked on the ensemble’s first tour of the USA in 1968 and performed in East Europe (Prague, East Berlin, Dresden and Leipzig) in 1969. Dorati’s tenure came to an end in 1973 with a European tour and a grand finale at the Vienna Musikverein. Highlights which followed include the orchestra’s debut in the Soviet Union with Gennady Rozhdestvensky in 1979 and Japan in 1990 with Paavo Berglund, Principal Conductor 1987-1991.

A new phase of the orchestra’s history began in 1992 with its renaming to Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, bearing the patronage of the Swedish Royal family. Around this time the orchestra took on its role of hosting and performing the newly inaugurated Nobel Prize Concerts, which have now become an annual event at the Stockholm Concert Hall attended by both the Nobel Laureates and the Swedish Royal Family. Recent guest artists have included Yo-Yo Ma, Renée Fleming, Lang Lang, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Martha Argerich, Joshua Bell, Ray Chen, Christoph Eschenbach and Riccardo Muti.

Alan Gilbert’s hugely successful tenure as the orchestra’s 14th Principal Conductor received worldwide attention. Arriving in Stockholm in 2000 as a fairly unknown young conductor, his work resulted in eight acclaimed seasons of concerts and included various tours throughout Europe, Japan and the United States. A highlight of the collaboration is the thrilling interpretation of Mahler's Symphony No. 9 on BIS which won widespread critical acclaim. Alan Gilbert was also elected Conductor Laureate by the orchestra. On the departure of Gilbert to the New York Philharmonic the RSPO was delighted to invite Finnish conductor Sakari Oramo to join the orchestra and continue history in the making.

Since taking the helm in 2008 Sakari Oramo has recorded the complete Symphonies of Schumann for Sony Classics which the UK’s BBC Music Magazine described as “impressive accounts, with Oramo coaxing some outstanding playing from his fine Swedish orchestra". Further recordings have included CD releases with violinists Daniel Hope (Deutsche Grammophon) and Baiba Skride (Orfeo) and the DVD release of the 2010 Nobel Prize Concert with Joshua Bell as soloist (Accentus Music / Nobel Media).

The CD of four major orchestral works by Swedish composer Anders Hillborg (BIS) – conducted in turn by Sakari Oramo, Alan Gilbert and Esa Pekka Salonen – won a Swedish Grammy in 2012. Two of the works on this CD, “Dreaming River” and “Exquisite Corps”, were also commissioned and premiered by the orchestra. Leading British magazine Gramophone concluded: ”The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra is on splendid form throughout, led by conductors who have championed these works at home and abroad. BIS's SACD sound is typically spectacular, making this release very strongly recommended.”

The recordings of Edward Elgar's music, including the two symphonies (BIS), have been equally well received by international critics. ”There is no need to be concerned that a Finnish conductor and a Swedish orchestra do not ‘get’ Elgar’s music. They do – with power, passion, compassion and authority, the Stockholm Philharmonic, excellent in all departments, sporting a particularly distinguished horn section and a very personable principal oboist”, Classical Source on the 2013 issue of Elgar's Symphony No 2. ”Oramo and his Swedish players have given us the Elgar cycle for our time”, wrote Sinfini Music/UK on the 2014 issue of Elgar's Symphony No 1.

Recordings of the complete Carl Nielsen symphonies were completed in 2015 (on BIS), and the reviews have been overwhelming. ”On the basis of this first instalment with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, he [Oramo] does not disappoint... Oramo's accounts are now the likely first choice among recent versions.” (International Record Review on the CD with Symphonies No 4 and 5). ”Playing with dynamite. Sakari Oramo is spot on in early Nielsen” (BBC Music Magazine on Symphonies No 1 and 3). ”To put it bluntly, this the most penetrating, the most complete, account of Nielsen’s last symphony that I have ever encountered. [...] Both performances seem so unassailably right, and the committed – nay, audacious – playing of the Stockholm Philharmonic is a wonder to behold.” (MusicWeb International on the last installment of the Nielsen cycle, Symphonies No 2 and 6).

Recent year's highlights with Sakari Oramo have included a major Mahler Festival in Stockholm, a ten-concert tour of Japan in 2010 and a sold out performance at the 2011 London Proms championing a block-buster Nordic programme of Sibelius, Nielsen and Grieg which the Daily Telegraph described as “marvellous … the orchestra’s deftness and beautifully blended tone was a constant delight ...” Oramo took the orchestra to New York (Carnegie Hall) and Washington (The Kennedy Center) in February 2013 and the orchestra played the Dresden Festival in May 2013. 2013 also included a two concerts at the prestigeous George Enescu Festival in Bucharest. 2015 started off with a hugely successfull tour of Switzerland, presenting music by Honegger and Sibelius as well as the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with soloist Patricia Kopatchinskaja.

The Stockholm Concert Hall has been home to the orchestra since it was inaugurated in 1926. Designed in the style of a classical Greek temple by one of Sweden’s most prolific architects, Ivar Tengbom, the hall was built in the heart of the city both for the orchestra and as an arena for the Nobel Prize Ceremony and other such formal occasions. In addition to a full season of concerts and the annual Nobel Prize Concert, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra presents two annual festivals in the hall – the autumnal “Stockholm International Composer Festival” (having featured composers like Witold Lutoslawski, Kaija Saariaho, John Adams and Hans Werner Henze over an almost 30 year span), and “Composer Weekend” in the spring, focusing on a contemporary Swedish composer.

Nurturing the talent and audience of tomorrow has been key to the orchestra’s work for almost a century and is now reaping its rewards. Through concerts and other activities the orchestra engages with over 45 000 children and youngsters each year with projects ranging from the traditional to experimental.

Furthermore, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra is deeply engaged in the El sistema project of the Stockholm region. Leading the field in experimental projects, the orchestra has also performed a number of symphonic arrangements of video game music, including releases on CD. The resulting success led the orchestra’s programme to be chosen as a special focus of attention in a benchmark study of the international field of music education commissioned by the European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO) of which the Stockholm Concert Hall is a leading member.

Booklet for Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 6