Symphonie Nr.5

Edward Gardner's series of symphonies by Carl Nielsen with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra continues with this recording of No. 5, supplemented with the overture "Helios" and the clarinet concerto with Alessandro Carbonare as soloist. Nielsen composed "Helios" in 1903 during a trip to Greece, when his wife Anne Marie, a sculptor, had received a grant to copy sculptures on the Acropolis. The ten to twelve minute work depicts the sunrise, noon and sunset over the Aegean and is one of the most performed works by the composer. The Clarinet Concerto dates from 1928 and consists of one long movement divided into four sections. It is dedicated to Nielsen's friend Aage Oxenvad, who premiered it. The Fifth Symphony, composed between 1920 and 1922, unusually consists of only two movements - the only work by Nielsen with this structure. Unlike his other mature symphonies, the Fifth has no subtitle and can therefore be considered as "purer music" compared to the more descriptive other works. Nielsen described the symphony as "the separation of darkness and light, the struggle between good and evil" and the contrast between "dreams and deeds". Seen by many as a "war symphony", Nielsen emphasized that he had not thought of the First World War when composing, but he added: "None of us is the same as before the war."