Carl Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 (Live) Seattle Symphony Orchestra & Thomas Dausgaard

• Carl Nielsen (1865 - 1931): Symphony No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 7, FS 16:
• 1 Symphony No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 7, FS 16: I. Allegro orgoglioso (Live) 09:10
• 2 Symphony No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 7, FS 16: II. Andante (Live) 06:15
• 3 Symphony No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 7, FS 16: III. Allegro comodo (Live) 08:30
• 4 Symphony No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 7, FS 16: IV. Finale. Allegro con fuoco (Live) 09:05
• Symphony No. 2, Op. 16, FS 29 "The Four Temperaments”:
• 5 Symphony No. 2, Op. 16, FS 29 "The Four Temperaments”: I. Allegro collerico (Live) 09:01
• 6 Symphony No. 2, Op. 16, FS 29 "The Four Temperaments”: II. Allegro comodo e flemmatico (Live) 04:25
• 7 Symphony No. 2, Op. 16, FS 29 "The Four Temperaments”: III. Andante malincolico (Live) 09:47
• 8 Symphony No. 2, Op. 16, FS 29 "The Four Temperaments”: IV. Allegro sanguineo (Live) 06:50
• Total Runtime 01:03:03

Info for Carl Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 (Live)

Thomas Dausgaard and the Seattle Symphony bring you electric and superbly played performances of Nielsen’s early symphonies. Dausgaard has championed the music of his countryman throughout his career, and this album features the Danish composer’s ecstatic First Symphony and the strong-willed Second Symphony. The live concert recordings capture the vitality and energy shared by the orchestra and their new Music Director, all in the spectacular acoustics of Benaroya Hall.

Seattle Symphony Media’s latest release, featuring Carl Nielsen’s earliest symphonic works, showcases the mastery of tonality and form for which he is known. These works give listeners a window into the composer’s sentimentality and humor. Inspired by Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Nielsen's Symphony No. 1 cites the Danish folk melodies of Nielsen’s childhood and evokes scenes from his youth. In Symphony No. 2, “The Four Temperaments,” Nielsen presents a musical sketch inspired by a painting he saw at a country inn, with each movement embodying a temperament: The Choleric, The Phlegmatic, The Melancholic and The Sanguine.

“As we face these challenging times together, I hope the vitality and joy of Nielsen’s Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 are felt by those who listen to these recordings,” says Music Director Thomas Dausgaard. “Nielsen is among the most important composers from my home country Denmark, and one of my happiest memories is playing his ever-youthful First Symphony. I am delighted to have performed these beloved works with the Seattle Symphony and to be sharing them with audiences around the world through this album. Bringing the Nielsen cycle recordings to completion in Seattle will be a great honor to which I am looking forward.”

Dausgaard has long been regarded for his take on the music of his countrymen. This Nielsen Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 release joins the critically acclaimed recordings of Nielsen Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4 from Dausgaard and the Seattle Symphony. The 2017 album received a Grammy Award nomination in Best Orchestral Performance, the Seattle Symphony’s first in the esteemed category.

Seattle Symphony
Thomas Dausgaard, conductor

The Seattle Symphony
is one of America’s leading symphony orchestras and is internationally acclaimed for its innovative programming and extensive recording history. Under the leadership of Music Director Ludovic Morlot since September 2011, the Symphony is heard from September through July by more than 500,000 people through live performances and radio broadcasts. It performs in one of the nest modern concert halls in the world — the acoustically superb Benaroya Hall — in downtown Seattle. Its extensive education and community engagement programs reach over 65,000 children and adults each year. The Seattle Symphony has a deep commitment to new music, commissioning many works by living composers each season. The orchestra has made nearly 150 recordings and has received two Grammy Awards, 21 Grammy nominations, two Emmy Awards and numerous other accolades. In 2014 the Symphony launched its in-house recording label, Seattle Symphony Media.

Thomas Dausgaard
is Chief Conductor of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the Seattle Symphony, Chief Conductor Designate of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Honorary Conductor of the Orchestra della Toscana (ORT) and Honorary Conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, having previously served as its Principal Conductor from 2004–2011. He is renowned for his creativity and innovation in programming, the excitement of his live performances, and his extensive catalogue of critically acclaimed recordings.

Dausgaard performs internationally with the world’s leading orchestras, and is a committed advocate of contemporary music, having premiered works by many living composers. He has made over 50 CDs with BIS and Da Capo, including a variety of complete symphony cycles. Future plans include a Brahms cycle for BIS, and the works of Pelle Gundmundsen-Holmgreen with the BBC Symphony Orchestra for Da Capo.

Dausgaard has been awarded the Cross of Chivalry by the Queen of Denmark, and elected to the Swedish Royal Academy of Music. His interests beyond music are wide-ranging and include a fascination with the life and art of indigenous communities. He lives in Copenhagen with his family.

Booklet for Carl Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 (Live)