Douglas Bostock’s Nielsen Symphonies 1 & 6, being free of the stultifying blandness of his previously issued Nos. 3 & 4, are the best so far in his ongoing cycle. The virtues of these performances lie in their flowing energy and in the generally fine playing of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. But that’s not to say they’re complete successes, which they are not. There’s still Bostock’s seeming insensitivity to the music’s subtle dynamic and rhythmic nuances, as in No. 1’s scherzo, where his matter-of-fact phrasing sounds utterly unimaginative next to Herbert Blomstedt’s wonderfully alive rubato and pointedly accented syncopation. Then there’s Bostock’s tendency to equate speed with expression (as in much of No. 6’s finale), whether or not this fits into the context of the movement in question. Such factors create the sense that Bostock is working outside the music, with little of the inner knowing conveyed by Blomstedt, Berglund, or Schonwandt.
Things certainly aren’t helped by Classico’s murky sounding recording, which rolls off the high frequencies and fails to delineate orchestral groups during tutti passages. The strings often are relegated to the back, especially when the brass make their entrances. Nielsen’s Andante Tranquillo e Scherzo for String Orchestra is a cheerful and pleasing early work, but its inclusion does not place this disc ahead of the reference editions.
