Nielsen: Violin Concerto; Symphony No. 4 'The Inextinguishable' in Bloomington, MN

The partnership of
Edward Gardner
and the
Bergen Philharmonic
has produced strong results in recordings of music from Scandinavia and beyond, with superb engineering from the Grieghalle in Bergen and a clean string sound that can stand with any in Europe. Those virtues are apparent on this release of music by
Carl Nielsen
, but there is a bonus: violinist
James Ehnes
turns in a rigorous performance of
Nielsen
's
Violin Concerto, Op. 33
, that is absolutely delightful. The
Violin Concerto
was written just a few years before the
Symphony No. 4, Op. 29 ("Inextinguishable")
, but it is a very different kind of work, closer to
's light-spirited theater music than to the symphony, but still with full-scale structural contrasts between violin and orchestra.
Ehnes
brings pinpoint accuracy and crackling humor to the work; listeners can sample the final rondo for an idea. The
Symphony No. 4
is also very strong, with somewhat slow tempos opening up a lot of carefully traced detail but a strong pulse from
Gardner
holding everything together. A wonderful
release. ~ James Manheim