There has always been a strong Nielsen tradition in Sweden: there are at present three (or nearly three) Nielsen cycles, two already complete from Gothenburg—one on BIS under Myung-Whun Chung and another from Jarvi on DG, though they both share Jarvi's Fourth and Sixth—then there is the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Esa-Pekka Salonen (Sony). Now comes a fourth from the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra under Gennadi Rozhdestvensky. It serves as a timely reminder of what a marvellous orchestra this has become in recent years. We know Rozhdestvensky as a fine Sibelius interpreter (his set on EMI Melodiya was impressive and idiomatic) but he proves less convincing here. Of course, it goes without saying that there is a great deal to admire and the orchestral response is first-class in all departments. However, the vital current that must carry the symphonic argument does not flow with that strength and urgency that a great Nielsen performance must have.
The first movement of the First Symphony is genial and relaxed, but for those who know Thomas Jensen's pioneering LP (which by all accounts comes closer to Nielsen's own tempo) and even those who don't, Rozhdestvensky will seem just a shade too expansive. Statistics are a notoriously unreliable guide—in certain circumstances a performance which seems fast can actually take longer—but Rozhdestvensky takes a minute longer than Blomstedt over the first movement and 1'30'' more over the Andante. Detail is lovingly phrased throughout and there are many felicities but we lose sight of the urgent forward thrust. He is marginally faster than Blomstedt in the first two movements of the Fourth but again the vital current is weaker. Despite the cultured playing of the Stockholm Philharmonic and first-class recording my allegiance remains with Blomstedt, Bryden Thomson or Myung-Whun Chung in the First Symphony, and Blomstedt in the Fourth.'