Its good to see a discussion on Nielsen's 6th, - one of the pieces of
music I treasure most. Its not an easy piece to come to terms with, in
fact, on first hearing a common reaction might be: what the *!@# was
that!, especially if you come to it via Nielsen's other Symphonies. But
once you get it, its one of those pieces you can turn to when it seems as
if you really are up against it and there is no way out (I rate it right up
there with Mahler 10 and Sibelius 4 in that regard).
In preparation for this posting, I listened to Horenstein's recording with
the Halle Orchestra on Intaglio (I hadn't heard it before), and realized
(despite the Halle's sometimes rough and ready playing and Horenstein's odd
tempo choices in the middle movements) just how funny this piece can be.
The final coda is an amazing achievement, it manages to both summarize and
subvert the entire gamut of emotions of the previous 30-40 minutes with
lightning swiftness. From the absurd brass fanfare and exhilarating string
rush, through the recapitulation of the terrifying crisis of the first
movement, and its hilarious conversion into a barn dance, to the formal
curtain call (complete with bow) and final emphatic musical fart takes
about two minutes. In that short time, the meaning of everything you heard
before is turned entirely on its head. It leaves me laughing with
astonishment every time I hear it.
What does it all mean? You will have to make up your own mind, but Nielsen
had experienced plenty of things that might have prompted it, his ill
health, his difficult relationship with his wife, the devastated condition
of post war Europe, his lack of recognition, - the range and depth of the
music can certainly stand any of those interpretations - but to me its
message is indeed simple: no matter what happens to you, if you don't get
bitter, you can face it.
Before signing off, a quick response to Andrew Carlan's suggestion that
Simpson might not have been sincere when he said he had changed his mind
about this piece, if you need any more convincing after Joel Lazare's post,
take a listen to Simpson's 7th Symphony (written in 1977).
You might want to check out my previous post on Nielsen's 6th in the
list archives.
Also, a page of links to Nielsen on the web is at:
http://members.aol.com/dmlovelock/nielsen.htm
The FS catalogue is at:
http://members.aol.com/dmlovelock/nielsen_fog.htm
The Simpson Society home page is at:
http://members.aol.com/dmlovelock/simpson.htm
Best wishes,
Andy Jackson
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