Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra & Sakari Oramo - Nielsen: Symphonies Nos 2 & 6 (2015)

Sakari Oramo's cycle of Nielsen symphonies for the BIS label draws to a triumphant, blistering close with The Four Temperaments and Sinfonia Semplice , radically different pieces separated by 22 years but with parallels exploited to the full by the wonderfully responsive Stockholm players. For example, the second symphony s beautifully evocative third Sakari Oramo's cycle of Nielsen symphonies for the BIS label draws to a triumphant, blistering close with The Four Temperaments and Sinfonia Semplice , radically different pieces separated by 22 years but with parallels exploited to the full by the wonderfully responsive Stockholm players. For example, the second symphony s beautifully evocative third movement (the melancholic temperament) is mirrored by the anxiety of the adagio of the last symphony. Oramo is totally in control, letting the panic of the first movement of the sixth take hold with alarming speed but also giving the orchestra space to breathe, as in the broad first movement of The Four Temperaments , allowing its rich, full-bodied sound to overwhelm us. **** --Guardian, May'15

The sheer zestiness of the outer movements is thoroughly infectious, with Oramo plainly revelling in the rhythmic imperative of this music and his orchestra, the Stockholm Philharmonic, always right on the tip of his baton. Gramophone,June'15 /// Not only is Sakari Oramo utterly at home and in control in these two brilliant, at times startlingly variegated works, he draws them close together than o would have thought possible. Performance ***** Recording ***** --BBC Music Magazine,July'15

Few composers' music can blow away the cobwebs quite like that of Carl Nielsen, and David Fanning's sleeve note to this BIS disc rightly describes him as the greatest life-affirmer in the 20th-century symphonic tradition . It's been a joy to watch Nielsen's stock rise in recent years, and John Storgårds' new cycle of the symphonies has just appeared in the wake of Alan Gilbert's blazing New York Philharmonic set. This disc of Symphonies 2 and 6 is the final instalment of Sakari Oramo's series, and I'm tempted to conclude that it's the most consistently satisfying of all. No conductor nails each symphony's distinct character with such skill and humanity. And, as a depiction of humanity's foibles, few works are as entertaining as Nielsen's Symphony No. 2, subtitled The Four Temperaments . Oramo's bounding energy in the opening Allegro collerico is arresting, allied with a winning flexibility of tempo. Nielsen's quirky shifts between duple and triple time are seamlessly handled. This music rises and subsides as if it's catching breath before the next fiery outburst. There's a startling burp of indignation a minute before the movement ends; Oramo catches the moment better than anyone. Nielsen's deliberately aimless scherzo charms, and the solemn slow movement scales Brucknerian heights. All terrific, capped by a finale with the most uplifting and transformative of codas. Nielsen's 6th is a harder nut to crack, a peculiarly complex Sinfonia Semplice . Repeated listenings highlight links to other, better-known works the first movement's dissonant climax recalls that of Mahler 10, and the inventive percussion writing anticipates Shostakovich. Full-bodied strings lend real weight to the Tempo giusto's more anguished outbursts, and its close is quietly devastating. Oramo's middle movements are appropriately disquieting, and the unsettling Theme and Variations unfold with assurance. The coda is pleasingly upbeat in Oramo's performance, the bassoons' pedal note a neat way to end a symphonic career. Superb SACD sound, and virtuosic playing from the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic. --ArtsDesk, 01/06/15