This disc concludes the finest available cycle of Nielsen Symphonies with two performances fully worthy of the preceding four. Michael Schonwandt leads a freshly vibrant First Symphony, a vigorous and straightforward work whose one interpretive trap–the need to take the third movement at a nicely flowing tempo–is negotiated by these forces with sovereign ease. The Sixth is one of those strange pieces that’s so peculiar that virtually everyone does it well. Too much has been made of the music’s supposed bitterness: just before the very end, Nielsen himself explicitly recalls in mocking fashion the first movement’s frightening climax, and the work’s overall tone basically reflects good-natured grotesquerie. This performance doesn’t have quite the knotty intensity of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Sony recording, or quite the polish of Herbert Blomstedt’s for Decca, but Schonwandt’s refreshing naturalness unfolds the symphony as if in a single sweeping gesture with ideally chosen tempos and a wide dynamic range. Nor does he stint on the fun bits: the trombone’s antics in the second movement drolly disrupt the perky woodwind choir, while the finale’s wacky waltz variation coveys exactly the right sense of havoc. It’s all captured in excellent, atmospheric sound that provides clarity, a warm sense of space, and a richly upholstered bottom. Marvelous.
