Fanfare 2 (US)

Five stars: A highly successful and immaculately realized transcriptions


NIELSEN Saul and David: Act IV Prelude; Battle Music (arr. Nielsen). Symphony No. 3, “Espansiva” (arr. Nielsen). JØRGENSEN/NIELSEN Højby Rifle Club March (arr. Hyldig)  Rikke Sandberg, Kristoffer Hyldig (pns)  OUR 8.226923 (45:44)

Piano reductions of orchestral works were common up until the invention of radio and sound recording, after which many in the music world regarded them as redundant. They only survived in opera and ballet for the purpose of rehearsal. Nevertheless, recordings of piano or piano duet arrangements of orchestral pieces occasionally appear—there have been several of Debussy’s La Mer, for instance—and when they do, we have to ask ourselves two questions: 1) What do we learn about the piece from hearing it in transcription, and 2) What intrinsic qualities does the performance possess to make it an absorbing musical experience in its own right? Both questions produce overwhelmingly positive responses in the case of this release.
According to Rikke Sandberg’s notes, the two pieces from Carl Nielsen’s 1901 opera Saul and David were made for the purpose of rehearsal, and were the only parts of the vocal score prepared by the composer himself. Nielsen, for unexplained reasons, arranged these interludes for two pianos rather than one: You can understand why when you hear the grandeur of the Prelude and the sheer tumult of the Battle Music. The piano duet version of Nielsen’s Symphony No. 3, “Espansiva” (1910–11), was made so Nielsen and a friend (the composer Julius Røntgen) could play it through for publishers and orchestral programmers. Originally for four hands, it has been recorded here instead on two pianos: a Fazoli for its mellow, resonant bass, and a Steinway D for it’s full-toned top. Sandberg and Hyldig have also added some octave doublings and some extra lines that were impractical on one keyboard, in order to produce a fuller performing version. This is perfectly reasonable, and the proof if any were needed is in the result.
Whereas in La Mer the two-piano reduction minus Debussy’s distinctive orchestral color inevitably sounds like a blueprint, Nielsen’s symphony in this arrangement stands on its own. One of its great pluses is to clarify Nielsen’s restless, modulatory harmonic progressions throughout the first movement. After the forceful repeated A of the opening, the music typically goes off in search of a key, and does not finally settle on one even in the movement’s A major close, which feels more like a temporary respite than a homecoming. Another place that is particularly successful is the Finale (Allegro): There, the stately march of the main theme can sound a touch pompous in an orchestral performance if it is taken slowly (as in Bernstein’s iconic recording), or too inconsequential if played lightly. Here, the piano tone provides a hymn-like warmth, effectively foreshadowing the hymn-variation finale of the composer’s later Wind Quintet. And there are many other examples of the unique quality of this arrangement, notably the pastoral beauty of the quiet episodes.
The program closes with a cute little march by Nielsen’s father, Niels Jørgensen, written for the Højby Rifle Club of which he was a member. It is the only composition by Jørgensen, who was a visual artist, but it gained considerable popularity in Denmark. Carl arranged it for piano and for military band. These scores were recently discovered in the Tivoli archive, on the basis of which Kristoffer Hyldig made his transcription.
The second question I posed above is easy to answer. Simply, this is superb piano playing. Sandberg and Hyldig think as one; their tempi and expressive choices are absolutely in sync. Listen to the lilt of the waltz in the symphony’s first movement, the clarity of Nielsen’s counterpoint whenever it occurs, or the sonorous build-up of texture at the beginning of the Saul and David Act IV Prelude. On the basis of their performance, I believe that if the “Espansiva” only existed in this two-piano format, it would be regarded as one of the masterpieces of the genre—up there with the Rachmaninoff Suites and Bartók’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion. The icing on the cake is the superlative sound achieved by OUR’s engineers (as usual). Although this disc has a short playing time, the musical rewards are so great that timing simply isn’t a factor. Nielsen fans and piano mavens need to own this recording.
Fanfare 2 (US)

Five stars: A highly successful and immaculately realized transcriptions


NIELSEN Saul and David: Act IV Prelude; Battle Music (arr. Nielsen). Symphony No. 3, “Espansiva” (arr. Nielsen). JØRGENSEN/NIELSEN Højby Rifle Club March (arr. Hyldig)  Rikke Sandberg, Kristoffer Hyldig (pns)  OUR 8.226923 (45:44)

Piano reductions of orchestral works were common up until the invention of radio and sound recording, after which many in the music world regarded them as redundant. They only survived in opera and ballet for the purpose of rehearsal. Nevertheless, recordings of piano or piano duet arrangements of orchestral pieces occasionally appear—there have been several of Debussy’s La Mer, for instance—and when they do, we have to ask ourselves two questions: 1) What do we learn about the piece from hearing it in transcription, and 2) What intrinsic qualities does the performance possess to make it an absorbing musical experience in its own right? Both questions produce overwhelmingly positive responses in the case of this release.
According to Rikke Sandberg’s notes, the two pieces from Carl Nielsen’s 1901 opera Saul and David were made for the purpose of rehearsal, and were the only parts of the vocal score prepared by the composer himself. Nielsen, for unexplained reasons, arranged these interludes for two pianos rather than one: You can understand why when you hear the grandeur of the Prelude and the sheer tumult of the Battle Music. The piano duet version of Nielsen’s Symphony No. 3, “Espansiva” (1910–11), was made so Nielsen and a friend (the composer Julius Røntgen) could play it through for publishers and orchestral programmers. Originally for four hands, it has been recorded here instead on two pianos: a Fazoli for its mellow, resonant bass, and a Steinway D for it’s full-toned top. Sandberg and Hyldig have also added some octave doublings and some extra lines that were impractical on one keyboard, in order to produce a fuller performing version. This is perfectly reasonable, and the proof if any were needed is in the result.
Whereas in La Mer the two-piano reduction minus Debussy’s distinctive orchestral color inevitably sounds like a blueprint, Nielsen’s symphony in this arrangement stands on its own. One of its great pluses is to clarify Nielsen’s restless, modulatory harmonic progressions throughout the first movement. After the forceful repeated A of the opening, the music typically goes off in search of a key, and does not finally settle on one even in the movement’s A major close, which feels more like a temporary respite than a homecoming. Another place that is particularly successful is the Finale (Allegro): There, the stately march of the main theme can sound a touch pompous in an orchestral performance if it is taken slowly (as in Bernstein’s iconic recording), or too inconsequential if played lightly. Here, the piano tone provides a hymn-like warmth, effectively foreshadowing the hymn-variation finale of the composer’s later Wind Quintet. And there are many other examples of the unique quality of this arrangement, notably the pastoral beauty of the quiet episodes.
The program closes with a cute little march by Nielsen’s father, Niels Jørgensen, written for the Højby Rifle Club of which he was a member. It is the only composition by Jørgensen, who was a visual artist, but it gained considerable popularity in Denmark. Carl arranged it for piano and for military band. These scores were recently discovered in the Tivoli archive, on the basis of which Kristoffer Hyldig made his transcription.
The second question I posed above is easy to answer. Simply, this is superb piano playing. Sandberg and Hyldig think as one; their tempi and expressive choices are absolutely in sync. Listen to the lilt of the waltz in the symphony’s first movement, the clarity of Nielsen’s counterpoint whenever it occurs, or the sonorous build-up of texture at the beginning of the Saul and David Act IV Prelude. On the basis of their performance, I believe that if the “Espansiva” only existed in this two-piano format, it would be regarded as one of the masterpieces of the genre—up there with the Rachmaninoff Suites and Bartók’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion. The icing on the cake is the superlative sound achieved by OUR’s engineers (as usual). Although this disc has a short playing time, the musical rewards are so great that timing simply isn’t a factor. Nielsen fans and piano mavens need to own this recording. Phillip Scott
Five stars: A highly successful and immaculately realized transcriptions

Five stars: A highly successful and immaculately realized transcriptions