麻豆社

Live from the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester

Presented by Martin Handley

Nielsen: Symphony No.2 'The Four Temperaments'
Mahler: Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt; Trost in Ungl眉ck; Der Schildwaceh Nachtlied; Der Tambourg'sell (from Des Knaben Wunderhorn)

8.25 Music Interval

8.45
Nielsen: Symphony No.5

Florian Boesch (baritone-bass)
麻豆社 Philharmonic
John Storgards (conductor)

Celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of Nielsen, the 麻豆社 Philharmonic and John Storgards continue their cycle of his six symphonies. Asked about his Fifth Symphony, Nielsen said he felt all his music expressed "resting forces in contrast to active ones" and in his Second Symphony, "The Four Temperaments", which starts the programme, Nielsen explores these contrasts using the different human character types; choleric, phlegmatic, melancholic and sanguine. His Fifth Symphony conjures contrasts of a more elemental nature with unsettling calm, the destructive power of the side drum and a defiantly life-affirming conclusion. The side drum as harbinger of war also has a role in "Der Tambourg'sell" and "Der Schildwache Nachtlied" when Florian Boesch joins the 麻豆社 Philharmonic for four songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn. (Nielsen's Symphonies No.1 and No.4 were broadcast live on 9 June and are available on iPlayer.).