The fact that this set is no more expensive in real terms than was the original boxed set of seven LPs in 1975 must be an incentive for potential purchasers, particularly since there are as yet no CD versions of Symphonies Nos. 1, 5 and 6.
There are complications, however. Firstly there is the question of Myung-Whun Chung's ongoing cycle with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra on BIS. His Four Temperaments (CD CD247, 5/84) and Espansiva (CD CD231, 8/86), the only ones issued to date, are superior in every way to the Unicorn-Kanchana reissues, and as there are concert performances scheduled of Symphony No. 5 we may not have to wait too long for that. With each symphony on a separate disc (and generous couplings) the BIS series is not going to be cheap, but its standard so far suggests that patience and the additional outlay may be rewarded.
The fact is that the excitement surrounding the original Unicorn set—first complete Nielsen symphony cycle on LP, with a first-rate orchestra, authoritative Danish conductor, and Robert Simpson as Musical Adviser—made it possible to turn an indulgent ear to shortcomings which are now all too evident. The recordings were made under difficult circumstances, and frankly it shows. To judge from the incidence of poor ensemble and individual splits and false entries it would seem that the LSO were not all that familiar with some of the music. There are some marvellous moments—the first flute is outstanding in the Inextinguishable and in No. 5—but in general the playing suggests that rehearsal and recording time were at a premium. The recordings are remastered and the sound picture is now more clearly focused, but the poor balance cannot be repaired—blaring horns and thudding timpani with everything else lacking presence. Horribile dictu I found that the best results came from turning the treble control a long way up. There are several clumsy edits.
As an interpreter, far from continuing the line of Jensen, Tuxen and Groondahl, Schmidt is very much his own man. This is evident in his devastating account of the Sinfonia semplice; but it is also evident in a degree of self-indulgence in the first three symphonies. No one can be blamed for falling in love with Nielsen's lyrical veinM but if it is ardently courted, rather than just appreciated for its own inner beauty, the whole construction threatens to fall apart. Three are curious textual details, too. In the first movement development of The Four Temperaments Schmidt alters the trombone line, obscuring its derivation from the preceding fugato and removing what I had always taken to be one of Nielsen's most inspired momentum-giving dissonances. In a part of the LP booklet (not reprinted here) we are told that Schmidt has taken original sources into account (though this particular passage is not mentioned), so he probably deserves the benefit of the doubt. But I do wish that sleeve-notes would document and account for drastic revisions of this kind, for the sake of other conductors if not reviewers.
Listening to the symphonies in order (for some reason they are not so arranged on the CDs) the interpretations do seem to grow in authority. Those of the Inextinguishable and No. 5 are among the best-paced on record, No. 4 preferable to Karajan on DG (CD 413 313-2GH, 8/84) and Salonen on CBS (CD MK42093, 2/87) though not to Rattle (EMI CD CDC7 47503-2, 2/87) or Groondahl (EMI—LP only) and No. 5 possibly the finest currently available. The Sinfonia semplice is surely Schmidt's greatest achievement. In this extraordinary work cross-currents of Nielsen's own earlier styles, with sideways glances at Bartok and Viennese Expressionism, and pre-echoes of Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Britten, threaten to undermine the very essense of his musical personality. There is a rawness here no less remarkable than the more considered assimilation evident in the Flute and Clarinet Concertos. No one should jump to conclusions about the symphony before having heard the burning intensity Ole Schmidt brings to it; and the playing, despite a false horn entry at bar 81 in the first movement and some untidy string passages, also rises to the occasion. It may be worth mentioning that the symphonies will continue to be available singly on LP and paired on cassette. The CDs come minus Robert Simpson's illustrated introductory talk from the original LPs but with a new and characteristically illuminating sleeve-note by him. The essay on Nielsen's style by Ole Schmidt and Ingolf Gabold is reprinted.'