Nielsen challenged standard orchestral size and use, notably by adding two vocalists in 'Sinfonia espansiva' and placing a second pair of timpani at the edge of the stage in 'The Inextinguishable'.
Performer Biography
The Seattle Symphony is one of America's leading symphony orchestras, acclaimed for its innovative programming and extensive recording history, including nearly 150 recordings and three Grammy Awards.
Performer Biography
Thomas Dausgaard, the conductor on this album, is the Principal Guest Conductor of the Seattle Symphony and Chief Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
Compositional Technique
Nielsen's music often features major and minor chords in unusual progressions, stretching the sense of harmonic functionality, and developing 'Nordic' oscillations into brutal dissonances.
Recording & Production
Both symphonies on this album were recorded live in concert at the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium, Benaroya Hall, in Seattle, Washington.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Nielsen sought to create music with integrity, reflecting deep questions of life and elemental origins, moving away from late Romantic musical language.
Composer Biography
Carl Nielsen, the composer, made a journey from playing in his father's village band to composing complex symphonic structures, discovering music in dry wood at age 6.
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