6 h. ago Nielsen: Clarinet Concerto; Helios; Symphony No 5 album review – suavity and elegance from Gardner’s Bergen Phil

(Chandos)The teeming textures of Nielsen’s 5th symphony are controlled with care and refinement by Edward Gardner, with the Bergen Philharmonic – and soloist Alessandro Carbonare – outstandingEdward Gardner’s nine years as principal conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic came to an end in July 2024, but their recording projects together continue to appear. This is the third instalment of Gardner’s Nielsen series with the orchestra, after previous discs featuring the third and fourth symphonies. Like its predecessors, the latest release pairs a symphony with one of Nielsen’s concertos, in this case the Fifth Symphony, completed in 1922, with the work for clarinet composed six years later.Both works, as well as the early Helios Overture, receive outstanding performances from the Bergen players, and Gardner controls the teeming textures of the symphony with great refinement. Perhaps there’s just a little too much control towards the close of the magnificent opening movement, when the sna...

Culture

4 w. ago Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos 1 & 3; Two Scherzos album review – deft execution of the Russian’s early exuberance

BBC Philharmonic/John Storgårds/Hallé Choir(Chandos)Capturing the momentum of two of Shostakovich’s first Soviet-era symphonies, this performance adds a pair of scherzos that pre-date even themIf the key stylistic reference in Shostakovich’s symphonies from the Fifth onwards would unmistakably be Mahler, his early symphonies show a much more catholic array of influences, and often hint at other directions his music might have taken had events in the Soviet Union allowed him the freedom of choice. The First Symphony in particular, composed in 1924-25, is an energised bundle of ideas derived from many sources, with the Stravinsky of Petrushka and the early neoclassicism of Paul Hindemith vying for supremacy in music that careers along with sudden changes of direction – alternating exuberance with flashes of pathos – which never fail to surprise.In what is the latest instalment of their Shostakovich series for Chandos, John Storgårds and the BBC Philharmonic are more effective in maint...

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