Nielsen 1

    So I think that Carl Nielsen might have the best symphonic batting average. Six symphonies, six winners (some might argue no. 6 isn't the best but I dig it). In some ways I consider him a culmination of the best features of both of the late Romantic schools of compositional thought. He has the accessibility of Brahms because of the clarity of ideas and formal aspects, but the adventurous nature of Bruckner in his orchestration. It is kind of like listening to Brahms if he learned how to take risks and what to do with the rest of the brass section beyond the horns. His harmonic ideas are also interesting as this G minor symphony starts off in C major as he writes pieces as a journey to the key rather than primarily in that key.

    Anyways, this is another situation where I'm gonna skip going over each movement because it would literally just be me gushing about every little aspect of the piece. He is easily in my top 5 symphonists, even though I didn't listen to his music until about a year and a half ago. In the future I'll plan this out more ahead of time and present some analysis (especially for the second, which is one of my favorites). In the mean time go listen to some Nielsen while I figure out what to listen to for post 50!