| Carl Nielsen |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT CARL NIELSEN | |
| 1865 births | |
| 1931 deaths | |
| composers for pipe organ | |
| 20th century classical composers | |
| danish composers | |
| opera composers | |
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Carl August Nielsen ( June 9 , 1865 , Sortelung – October 3 , 1931 , Copenhagen ) was a Conductor , Violinist , and the most internationally known Composer from Denmark . He is especially admired for his six symphonies. LIFE Nielsen was born in Sortelung, not far from the city of Odense . His father was a housepainter and amateur musician. Carl first discovered music by experimenting with the different sounds and pitches he heard when striking the logs in a pile of firewood behind his home. His family was relatively poor, but he was still able to learn the Violin and Piano as a child. He also learnt how to play Brass Instrument s, which led to a job as a Bugle r in a Military Band in Odense . He later studied violin and Music Theory at the Copenhagen Conservatory, but never took formal lessons in composition. Nonetheless, he began to compose. At first, he did not gain enough recognition for his works to support him. During the concert which saw the premiere of his first Symphony on March 14, 1894 (conducted by Johan Svendsen ), Nielsen played in the second Violin section. However, the same symphony was a great success when played in Berlin in 1896, and from then his fame grew. He continued to play the violin at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen until 1905, by which time he had found a publisher for his compositions. In 1916 he took a post teaching at the Royal Danish Conservatory in Copenhagen, and continued to work there until his death. On April 10, 1891 Nielsen married the Danish sculptress Anne Marie Brodersen. They had met just a month before in Paris. The couple spent their honeymoon in Italy. They remained married until Nielsen's death, despite a long period of marital strife including a lengthy separation and mutual accusations of infidelity. He suffered a serious heart attack in 1925 and from that time on he was forced to curtail much of his activity, although he continued to compose until his death. Also during this period he wrote a delightful memoir of his childhood called "My Childhood on Funen." MUSIC Internationally, Nielsen is best known for his six Symphonies . Other well-known pieces of his are the Incidental Music for Oehlenschläger's drama '' Aladdin ,'' the Opera s ''Saul og David'' and '' Maskarade '', the Concerti for Flute and for Clarinet , and the Wind Quintet . In Denmark, everybody knows and sings the numerous songs by various poets, set to music by Carl Nielsen. Like his contemporary, the Finn Jean Sibelius , he studied Renaissance Polyphony closely, which accounts for much of the melodic and harmonic "feel" of his music. Nielsen's works are sometimes referred to by FS numbers, from the 1965 catalog compiled by Dan Fog and Torben Schousboe. SYMPHONIES Nielson has written six symphonies in his life. His approach to Sonata Form , as seen in his symphonies, is one of gradual abandonment. In considering the first movements of each symphony in turn, the first two reveal Nielsen working fairly comfortably within the confines of sonata form as later 19th century composers saw it; the middle two include certain high-level references to sonata form but little of the detail, and the last two inhabit a completely new world of Nielsen's own devising, wherein the structure of the movement can only be understood within the context of the material he is working with. By that point in his output there are no more parallels with any other forms or past traditions of musical construction. Symphony No. 1: Nielsen's early '' Symphony No. 1 In G Minor '' already shows his individuality and hints at what Robert Simpson calls "progressive tonality", by which he refers to Nielsen's habit of beginning a work in one key and ending in another. It was written during, and shares some qualities with, the Holstein songs of opus 10. Symphony No. 2: A painting Nielsen saw at an inn, depicting the Four Temperaments (choleric, melancholic, phlegmatic and sanguine), inspired him to write '' Symphony No. 2, "The Four Temperaments" ''. It is in four movements, each illuminating one of the temperaments, but despite this apparent tendency toward being a suite of tone poems, it is a fully integrated symphony. It is not true "program music" but rather a group of general character sketches, and one need not know which temperament Nielsen is considering in order to appreciate the work as a whole. Symphony No. 3: '' Symphony No. 3, "Espansiva" '' was premiered in the same concert as the ''Violin Concerto''. The second movement contains wordless solos for Soprano and Baritone voices (which can be alternatively played by Clarinet and Trombone ). Symphony No. 4: Perhaps the best known of Nielsen's Symphonies is '' Symphony No. 4, "Inextinguishable" ''. It is in four connected movements and is the most dramatic Nielsen had written to date. In the last movement two sets of Timpani are placed on opposite sides of the stage for a sort of musical duel. Symphony No. 5: '' in Scotland where it caused a sensation. Symphony No. 6: Even Robert Simpson was at first confused by Nielsen's '' Symphony No. 6, "Semplice" ''. It is not as obviously dramatic as the previous two and in some ways it strikes listeners as strange. For instance, the second movement is only scored for nine instruments of the orchestra (piccolo, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, trombone, and percussion) and represents Nielsen's commentary on trends in modern musical composition at the time (the mid-1920's). It is by far the most elusive of his symphonies to grasp, yet its very subtle architectural structure coupled with its enigmatic emotional tone make it a challenging, fascinating, and ultimately rewarding listening experience. LIST OF WORKS Carl Nielsen's works include the following:
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