Carl Nielson

Carl August Nielsen (Sortelung, June 9, 1865 – Copenhagen, October 3, 1931) was a Danish composer, one of the most renowned in his country.

Nielsen was born in Sortelung, a town near Odense. Although his family was relatively poor, Carl managed to study violin and piano. He also learned to play various wind instruments thanks to his work in an Odense military band.

She studied violin and music theory at the Copenhagen Conservatory. He received his first music lessons from his father and studied with the Danish composer Niels Gade and with a disciple of Joseph Joachim at the Copenhagen Conservatory, where from 1915 he worked as a teacher. His first symphony premiered on March 14, 1894 without much success. However, the same work achieved great success when it was performed in Berlin in 1896. From that date, his fame began to grow.

He continued playing the violin at the Royal Theater in Copenhagen until 1905 when he found a publisher for his compositions. From 1916 he began to teach at the Royal Danish Conservatory in Copenhagen, work in which he continued until his death.

On April 10, 1891, Nielsen married the Danish sculptor Anne Marie Brodersen. The marriage remained together until the composer's death.

Music

Internationally, Nielsen is best known for his six symphonies. Other well-known pieces are the additional music he composed for the poet Adam Oehlenschläger's drama Aladdin, the operas Saul and David and Masquerade, the concertos for flute and clarinet, and the quintet of wind. He is also the author of numerous Danish folk songs.

Concerts

Nielsen composed three concertos, the Violin Concerto, Op. 33, a 1911 work from his middle period, which falls within the tradition of European classicism, while the Concerto for Flute (no opus number) from 1926 and the Concerto for Clarinet, Op. 57 which arrived in 1928, are late works, influenced by the modernism of the 1920s and, according to Danish musicologist Herbert Rosenberg, the product of "an extremely experienced composer who knows how to avoid the non-essential".

Unlike Nielsen's later works, the Violin Concerto has a distinct neoclassical, melody-oriented structure. The Flute Concerto, in two movements, was written for flutist Holger Gilbert-Jespersen, a member of the Copenhagen Wind Quintet who had premiered the Wind Quintet (in its original language, Kvintet for Flöte, Obo, Klarinet, Horn og Fagot, Op. 43) by Nielsen (1922). In contrast to the rather traditional style of the Violin Concerto, reflects the modernist trends of the time. The first movement, for example, transitions between D minor, E flat minor and F major before the flute comes to the fore with a cantabile theme in E major.

The Clarinet Concerto was also composed for a member of the Copenhagen Wind Quintet, Aage Oxenvad. Nielsen stretched the capabilities of the instrument and player to the fullest. This concerto is in a single continuous movement and features a struggle between soloist and orchestra and between the two competing principal keys, F major and E major.

The wind concertos feature many examples of what Nielsen called objektivering (Danish, translated as 'objectification'). With this term he meant giving the instrumentalists freedom of interpretation and execution within the limits established by the score.

Chamber music

Nielsen composed several chamber music works, some of them prominent in the international repertoire. The Wind Quintet, one of his most popular pieces, was composed in 1922 specifically for the Copenhagen Wind Quintet. Simpson, explaining that Nielsen's love of wind instruments was closely related to his love of nature, wrote: “He was also very interested in human character and in the Wind Quintet deliberately composed for five friends; each part is composed to suit the individuality of each player."

Fifth wind, op. 43
	1. Allegro ben moderato 2. Menuetto 3. Praeludium: Adagio. Subject with variazioni: A little Andean Interpreted by James Galway (flaut) with the Fifth Carion
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Nielsen composed four string quartets. The String Quartet No. 1 in G minor, op. 13 (1889, revised 1900) contains a 'Résumé' at the end, which brings together themes from the first, third, and fourth movements. String Quartet No. 2 in F minor, op. 5 appeared in 1890 and the String Quartet No. 3 in E flat major, op. 14 in 1898. Music historian Jan Smaczny suggests that in this work 'the handling of texture is safe and much less derivative than in earlier works... [the quartet] causes further regret that Nielsen did not follow with the genre... for paralleling its later symphonic development'. The String Quartet No. 4 in F Major (1904) initially received a mixed reception, with critics they felt doubtful of his style. Nielsen revised it several times, and the final version, in 1919, is listed as his op. 44.

The violin was his own instrument and for it he composed four large-scale chamber works. Deviations from standard procedures in the First Sonata, op. 9 (1895), including its often sudden modulations and terse thematic material, baffled Danish critics on its premiere. The Second Sonata, op. 35 of 1912 was composed for the violinist Peder Møller, who earlier that year had premiered the composer's Violin Concerto. The work is an example of the composer's progressive key as, although it is said to be in the key of G minor, the first and last movements end in different keys. Critic Emilius Bangert wrote of the premiere (with Axel Gade): "The overall impression was of a beautiful, uninterrupted line (a flow of notes), where in particular a wonderful second theme in the first part and the pure, high sphere of the last part was captivating". Two other works are for solo violin. The Prelude, theme and variations, op. 48 (1923) was written for Emil Telmányi and, as in the case of the Chaconne for piano, op. 32, was inspired by the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. The Prelude and Presto, op. 52 (1928) was composed as a tribute to the sixtieth birthday of the composer Fini Henriques.

Symphonies

Poster of a concert program in the Musikforeningen room with works by Beethoven, Bach and the Fifth Symphony of Nielsen, 1922.

Mansion Odd Fellow Palæet in Copenhagen, where many of the Nielsen compositions were premiered.

Nielsen is perhaps most closely associated outside of Denmark with his six symphonies, written between 1892 and 1925. These works have much in common: they are all just over 30 minutes long, brass instruments a key component of the orchestration and all exhibit unusual key changes, which increase the dramatic tension.

Symphony No. 1 in lower sun, op. 7 (1890-1892)

From his first compases, although he reflects the influence of Grieg and Brahms, he shows the individuality of Nielsen.

Symphony No. 2, op. 16 (1901–1902), The four temperaments

It embarks on the development of human character. A painting that Nielsen saw in a tavern inspired this composition on the four temperaments (colric, melancholic, phlematic and blood). It consists of four movements, each dedicated to a temperament.

Symphony No. 3, op. 27 (1910–1911), Expansive

English composer Robert Simpson understood a reference to the "outward growth of the reach of the mind". It maximizes Nielsen's technique of confronting two keys at the same time and includes in the second movement a section with solos of soprano and baritone, singing a speechless melody, which can be interpreted alternatively by the clarinet and the trombón.

Symphony No. 4, op. 29 (1914–1916), The inextinguishable

It is perhaps the best known of Nielsen and one of the most interpreted. It's the most dramatic of all. In the last movement, two sets of timbals on opposite sides of the stage, undertake a kind of musical duel. Nielsen described it as 'the vital force, the insatiable will to live'.

Symphony No. 5, op. 50 (1921–1922)

Also frequently interpreted, it uses percussion in an unprecedented way. It presents another battle between the forces of order and chaos. The sound of the box has the task of interrupting the orchestra, playing ad libitum and out of time, to destroy the music. Interpreted by the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra led by Erik Tuxen at the Edinburgh International Festival in 1950, it made sense and sparked interest in Nielsen music outside Scandinavia.

Symphony No. 6, no opus number (1924-1925), Semplice ("Simple")

It is not as dramatic as the above, the tonal language seems similar to that of the other symphonies and at some points, it sounds strange. In the second movement it uses only nine instruments of the orchestra: piccolo, 2 clarinets, 2 bass, trombón and percussion.

Fantasy

It is one of its most famous works, of neo-Roman style. It is usually played for proof of access to professional teachings or when they are already in the professional degree.^{[chuckles]required]}