Mix together a pound of Brahms, a cup of Sibelius and a tablespoon of Dvorak, with a good helping of originality, and you get the essence of this important Danish composer's first 3 symphonies. Most of the imagery his music is based on stems from life, nature and even human nature, as in the 2nd symphony subtitled "The Four Temperaments". Very strong, impulsive, well-developed music flows from Nielsen's pen.

These recordings from the late 1980's under Blomstedt have a full, rich and natural sound stage that match this kind of music perfectly.

Jean-Yves Duperron