SEATTLE SYMPHONY MEDIA RELEASES THRILLING LIVE PERFORMANCES OF DANISH COMPOSER CARL NIELSEN’S EXUBERANT SYMPHONIES NOS. 1 & 2 ON JUNE 5, 2020
ALBUM FOLLOWS “BEST ORCHESTRAL PERFORMANCE” GRAMMY AWARD NOMINATION FOR 2017 RELEASE OF NIELSEN SYMPHONIES NOS. 3 & 4
NIELSEN SYMPHONIES NOS. 1 & 2 AVAILABLE FOR PRE-SALE MAY 22 ON APPLE MUSIC AND AMAZON
“[The] Seattle Symphony recording of Symphonies [Nos.] 3 and 4 could well be the first installment of what will eventually be hailed as the Nielsen cycle of the 21st century.”
– Jason Victor Serinus, Stereophile
Seattle, WA — Music Director Thomas Dausgaard and the Seattle Symphony release electrifying live recordings of Nielsen Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 on June 5, 2020. The highly anticipated album is the second installment in Dausgaard and the Symphony’s recordings of all of Carl Nielsen’s symphonies.
The release, featuring Nielsen’s earliest symphonic works, showcases the mastery of tonality and form for which he is known. These works give listeners a window into the composer’s sentimentality and humor. Inspired by Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Nielsen's Symphony No. 1 cites the Danish folk melodies of Nielsen’s childhood and evokes scenes from his youth. In Symphony No. 2, “The Four Temperaments,” Nielsen presents a musical sketch inspired by a painting he saw at a country inn that depicted the Four Temperaments, with each movement embodying a temperament: The Choleric, The Phlegmatic, The Melancholic and The Sanguine.
“As we face these challenging times together, I hope the vitality and joy of Nielsen’s Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 are felt by those who listen to these recordings,” shares Music Director Thomas Dausgaard. “Nielsen is among the most important composers from my home country Denmark, and one of my happiest memories is playing his ever-youthful First Symphony. I am delighted to have performed these beloved works with the Seattle Symphony and to be sharing them with audiences around the world through this album. Bringing the Nielsen cycle recordings to completion in Seattle will be a great honor to which I am looking forward.”
Music Director Thomas Dausgaard leads the Seattle Symphony in the April 2019 performance of Nielsen’s Symphony No. 2 at Benaroya Hall that is featured on this album. Photo by Brandon Patoc.
Bachtrack’s review of the Seattle Symphony’s performance of Nielsen’s Symphony No. 1 raved, “A work rarely heard in these parts, the Nielsen bursts forth in medias res […]. Dausgaard inspired the players to bring forth the symphony’s tremendous élan with shimmering colours.”
Dausgaard has long been regarded for his take on the music of his countrymen. This Nielsen Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 release joins the critically acclaimed recordings of Nielsen Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4 from Dausgaard and the Seattle Symphony. The 2017 album received a Grammy Award nomination in Best Orchestral Performance, the Seattle Symphony’s first in the esteemed category.
Digital downloads and CDs are available through all major online music retailers and streaming services and will be available worldwide on June 5, 2020. This recording is also available in an immaculate 5.1 digital surround version engineered by 2017 Grammy Award winner for Best Surround Sound, Dmitriy Lipay.
To obtain a physical or digital review copy of the release, photos, liner notes or any other information on Seattle Symphony Media, please contact Dinah Lu at press@seattlesymphony.org.
RECORDING DETAILS
CARL NIELSEN
Symphony No. 1
Symphony No. 2, “The Four Temperaments”
Thomas Dausgaard, conductor
Seattle Symphony
Worldwide Release Date
June 5, 2020
Label: Seattle Symphony Media
Catalog Number: SSM1024
Producer: Dmitriy Lipay
Thomas Dausgaard and the Seattle Symphony bring you electric and superbly played performances of Nielsen’s early symphonies. Dausgaard has championed the music of his countryman throughout his career, and this album features the Danish composer’s ecstatic First Symphony and the strong-willed Second Symphony. The live concert recordings capture the vitality and energy shared by the orchestra and their new Music Director, all in the spectacular acoustics of Benaroya Hall.
NIELSEN SYMPHONY NO. 1 IN G MINOR, OP. 7
Total Timing: 33:00 // Catalog Number: SSM1024 // Producer: Dmitriy Lipay //
Label: Seattle Symphony Media
NIELSEN SYMPHONY NO. 2, OP. 16, “THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS”
Total Timing: 30:03 // Catalog Number: SSM1024 // Producer: Dmitriy Lipay //
Label: Seattle Symphony Media
The Seattle Symphony is grateful to Joan Watjen for her generous support of SEATTLE SYMPHONY MEDIA CDs in memory of her husband Craig.
Recorded in the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium, Benaroya Hall, Seattle, Washington.
Nielsen’s Symphony No. 1 was recorded live in concert January 30 and February 1, 2020.
Nielsen’s Symphony No. 2 was recorded live in concert April 4, 6 and 7, 2019.
Nielsen’s Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2 were presented as part of the Delta Air Lines Masterworks Season. Thomas Dausgaard’s performances received additional support from the Scan|Design Foundation by Inger and Jens Bruun. Thomas Dausgaard’s performances of Nielsen’s Symphony No. 1 were generously underwritten by Charles and Maria Schweizer.
Digital downloads and CDs are available through iTunes, Amazon, Acoustic Sounds and HD Tracks. Recordings can be streamed through Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal and Primephonic.
THOMAS DAUSGAARD | MUSIC DIRECTOR
Music Director of the Seattle Symphony, Danish conductor Thomas Dausgaard is esteemed for his creativity and innovative programming, the excitement of his live performances and his extensive catalogue of critically acclaimed recordings. A renowned recording artist with over 70 discs to his name, Dausgaard’s releases with the Seattle Symphony have garnered critical acclaim resulting in international honors including a 2017 Gramophone Award nomination for Mahler’s Symphony No. 10 (Deryck Cooke version), Gramophone’s 2018 Orchestra of the Year Award, and a 2019 Best Orchestral Performance Grammy nomination for Nielsen’s Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4. An avid champion of contemporary works and the music of his homeland, Dausgaard and the Seattle Symphony will release the much-anticipated cycle of symphonies by Carl Nielsen.
Performing internationally with many of the world’s leading orchestras, Dausgaard is also the Chief Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Conductor Laureate of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, and Honorary Conductor of the Orchestra della Toscana and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra.
Dausgaard has been awarded the Cross of Chivalry by the Queen of Denmark and elected to the Royal Academy of Music in Sweden.
SEATTLE SYMPHONY MEDIA
Launched in 2014, Seattle Symphony Media is the Seattle Symphony’s independent Grammy Award-winning in-house record label. The Symphony has an extensive catalogue of nearly 150 recordings, which have brought forth five Grammy Awards, 26 Grammy Award nominations and two Emmy Awards throughout its history. The Seattle Symphony was named Gramophone’s 2018 Orchestra of the Year. Under the direction of Music Director Thomas Dausgaard, the Symphony's in-house record label features both “core repertoire” and some of the eclectic and contemporary programming for which the Seattle Symphony has become recognized. The label includes both studio recordings and performances captured live in concert, allowing the organization an unprecedented breadth of repertoire choices.
All recordings are made in the acoustically superb Benaroya Hall and engineered by the Grammy Award-winning recording engineer Dmitriy Lipay. Using the Symphony’s own state-of-the-art in-house recording studio, recordings have been engineered to audiophile standards and aim to capture as realistically as possible the sound of the orchestra performing on stage with naturalistic imaging, depth of field and dynamic range. Distributed by Naxos of America, the recordings are available in both physical and digital formats from a variety of retailers. Digital content is available in stereo, “Mastered for iTunes,” 96k 24-bit high resolution and 5.1 surround sound.
SEATTLE SYMPHONY
Led by Music Director Thomas Dausgaard, the Seattle Symphony unleashes the power of music, brings people together and lifts the human spirit. Recognized as one of the “most vital American orchestras” (NPR), the Seattle Symphony is internationally acclaimed for its inventive programming, community-minded initiatives and superb recordings on the Seattle Symphony Media label. With a strong commitment to new music and a legacy of over 150 recordings, the orchestra has garnered five Grammy Awards, 26 Grammy nominations, two Emmy Awards and was named Gramophone’s 2018 Orchestra of the Year. The Symphony performs in Benaroya Hall in the heart of downtown Seattle from September through July, reaching over 500,000 people annually through live performances and radio broadcasts.
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