The New York Philharmonic and conductor Alan Gilbert are to record all of Nielsen’s symphonies and concertos to celebrate the Danish composer’s 150th anniversary.
This project comes hot on the heels of Sir Colin Davis’s Nielsen cycle with the London Symphony Orchestra, the latest disc of which was BBC Music Magazine’s orchestral choice in March.
The New York Phil’s ‘Nielsen Project’ is to be recorded on Dacapo Records, the state-funded label of Denmark. In addition, violinist Nikolaj Znaider, flautist Robert Langevin and clarinetist Ricardo Morales will perform concertos by the composer.
‘Carl Nielsen's music comes out of a classic Germanic symphonic tradition, but it's so distinctly Danish,’ says Gilbert. ‘It's very gripping and has a craggy edge to it that is characteristic of life in the high North. I'm sure that Nielsen's time has now come.’
Four discs will be produced starting with the Second and Third symphonies in late 2012. The final disc is scheduled to be released in 2015.
Rosie Morshead