20th August 2015
Royal Albert Hall, London, United Kingdom
NIELSEN "Helios" Overture
BRAHMS Violin Concerto
NIELSEN Three motets
NIELSEN Hymnus amoris
NIELSEN Symphony No. 2
Nikolaj Znaider (violin)
Anna Lucia Richter (soprano)
David Danholt (tenor)
Choristers of Winchester Cathedral
DR KoncertKoret
DR SymfoniOrkestret
Fabio Luisi (conductor)
This is the most extraordinary Prom I have been to. It is scandalous that only one symphony is played to celebrate the 150th of Carl Nielsen, but what an honour to see the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Concert Choir flying 200-odd people across just to perform here at the RAH to celebrate their national hero. It is odd to choose the "Second Symphony" over the significantly more popular "Fourth" and "Fifth", but it turned out to be a topical choice. Subtitled "The Four Temperaments", this is the musical manifestation of the four moods described by the ancient Greeks, and almost the exact subject of Pixar's latest release "Inside Out" (in fact, the father of the director is a Nielsen scholar). The fiery "Choleric", the dancing strings in compound time in "Phlegmatic", the heartwrenching lyricism of "Melancholic", and the edge-of-the-seat triumphant thrill of "Sanguine", this is hands down my favourite performance this Prom season, and that was only the last 35 minutes of a mammoth 3h programme. It takes a great composer to excel in writing for all the moods, and it takes a Gemini like Nielsen to experience all of them at the same time, and that is particularly apparent in the episodic "'Helios' Overture", again performed with much conviction. The surprise discovery was the three rarely performed a capella motets and what fabulous polyphonic writing those are. Equally precious was a rare performance of the gigantic and punchy choral work "Hymnus amoris" - sumptuous soundscape throughout. Did I mention that somewhere in the middle, they managed to squeeze the tiny Brahms "Violin Concerto" in? Nikolaj Znaider's performance was the most seamless take I can remember, and I found myself swinging to the entire first movement, even when he chose the play the Heifetz cadenza and Fabio Luisi's conducting was a bit on the soft side. The encores were a Bach sarabande and more Nielsen. As Znaider remarked, "Denmark is not just about LEGO and pastry". I am Angry and Disgusted that RAH was only half full; Sad that there was only 3h of these; Fear that I would never hear Nielsen this fine again; but as core memory goes, it was, from my Honest Island, just Joy.
