Jody Hughes

#GoodNightListening

Nielsen: Symphony No 5.

The piece that introduced Nielsen to me. It's a beautiful modernist wonder. The meaning of every element is clear when introduced and then later when they are combined no clarity is lost. A remarkable feat.

The pacing of especially the first movement (there are only two) is expansive but it never flags, even for a second.

Nielsen described it as portraying "the division of dark and light, the battle between evil and good". The notes in the recording I first had suggested a war theme, with the military snare drum representing one side of the conflict, eventually succumbing to the massed forces of the rest of the orchestra.

This is a performance from 2023 with Herbert Blomstedt conducting, aged 95. It was his recording with the San Francisco Symphony that I heard first, so this is a tip of my hat to him.

https://youtu.be/pOohguxFpKY

#classicalmusic #carlnielsen

Carl Nielsen: Sinfonie Nr. 5 op. 50 | Herbert Blomstedt | NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester

YouTube
May 20 at 8:18pmWeb
Show threadJón FairbairnMay 21
@Gaolaitch I’d not heard that before. Enjoyed it but I’d have to listen a few times more to really get into it.
Something kind of irrelevant that struck me while watching is that all the trumpets had lever valves. When I last played in an orchestra (a long time ago) the French Horns had levers, but the trumpets all had pistons. Is this a new thing?
Show threadJody HughesMay 21
@jonfairbairn You’d have to ask a trumpeter, but I think there’s a lot of fashion and fad in it. Trumpeters are often after the latest mouthpiece design or material etc, and I’m not sure anyone but the player notices the difference.
Show threadJody HughesMay 21
@jonfairbairn sorry, didn’t answer your question: not new tech, but maybe a new fad.
Show threadJón FairbairnMay 21
@Gaolaitch yes, I was thinking of fashion rather than tech (given that horns have had them for a long time).
Show threadJón FairbairnMay 21
@Gaolaitch to contribute something to #GoodNightListening one of my go-to before bed pieces is Arvo Pärt’s Cantus in memory of Benjamin Britten.
I prefer the Neema Järvi/ Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra version.
Show threadJody HughesMay 21
@jonfairbairn Yes, that’s a good choice! I don’t think I’ve heard the version you mentioned, I’ll have a trawl round in a bit.
My favourite thing about it is the final bell note, for which the sound of the bell strike is covered by the very last sound of the massed strings playing fortissimo, and only the bell rings on in the silence after they stop. Magic.