Search - Carl Nielsen, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra :: Nielsen: Symphonies 3 & 6 - Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra / Jukka-Pekka Saraste

Great 6, decent 3

Evan Wilson | Cambridge, MA | 11/07/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This disc can be unreservedly recommended for half the program. Normally, with a disc of Nielsen's 3rd and 6th symphonies, one would think the strong recommendation would be for the 3rd symphony which is a far easier piece to interpret than the composer's enlessly fascinating but often baffling final symphony. That isn't the case here, though.Saraste's interpretation of 3 simply lacks breadth, although part of the problem may be the orchestra. For a piece entitled "Sinfonia Espansiva," this version frequently fails to spread its wings. Saraste has some interesing ideas, but it seems as if the orchestra lacks the lung power to carry them out. The best movement here is the lovely, pastorale second movement; the worst, the lacklustre finale which would seem to be the easiest to bring off. This version would probably not make it onto my top 5 recordings of this piece although it's not a total waste.All is not lost however, because Saraste's 6th is the BEST performance of this difficult piece I've ever heard. Taking a consciously modern tack, he brings out all the curious details in a piece that completely belies its title "Sinfonia semplice." The catastrophe of the first movement is vividly portrayed as is the exhausted, ambivalent ending. The slow movement winds around effectively in utter confusion and the finale, a series of odd variations, works effectively. Moreover, considering their performance in the 3rd, the orchestra plays the hell out of this piece. (A more technically difficult piece than 3, so maybe they were just having a bad day when they recorded the Espansiva.)Ultimately, you have to decide what you're looking for. I wouldn't be without Saraste's 6th, but I'm sure there are many people who won't listen much to the piece because it's like a Chinese puzzle. If that is you, you can find a much better version of 3 from Bernstein (coupled with a terrific 5). If you're fascinated by 6, however, you must have this version which wonderfully complements Bryden Thompson's look at this intriguing piece. Full price is alot to pay for 30+ minutes of music, but when a conductor makes sense of a difficult piece like the 6th, I'm willing to pay."