Symphonies 1 & 6

Adrian Leaper and his sparkling Irish orchestra recorded all of Carl Nielsen's symphonies for Naxos in the mid-1990s and all three discs (the others are here: Nielsen - Symphonies & Nielsen - Symphonies) are worth hearing. Adrian Leaper's readings of Nielsen's First and Sixth Symphonies are dramatic, exciting, and filled with such conviction that I'd be hard pressed to find an alternative recording. Nielsen's First Symphony, written for his wife, is a tentative symphony; a composer just getting his feet wet in the symphonic pool, but the results are wonderful. The symphony is filled with ideas, intense motifs and a hint to the stunning symphonic masterpieces that would come later. Leaper and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland revel in Nielsen's symphonic beginnings and the result is a joyous but focused reading. The Sixth Symphony is a much more serious - and much more polished work - and Leaper and his orchestra make all the right choices: fast tempos, tight playing, and never just scratching the surface of some intense themes.