# Nielsen - String Quintet in G Major (review)



## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Nielsen wrote his only String Quintet in 1888, at the age of 23ish and in a period of personal upheaval after he had fathered a child with a young housemaid in Copenhagen (Nielsen's infidelities were a constant stress throughout his marriage) that cost him his engagement to another woman. Although with no opus number it's common knowledge that he began work on it immediately after composing his popular Little Suite (Op.1). It was performed a few times in the 1890s, after receiving its premiere on February 13, 1889 in the Frimurerlogen Copenhagen, for the Chamber Music Society. It was dedicated to the Thorvald Nielsen-Kvartetten. Strangely, it was never published in his lifetime, which probably contributed to its obscurity, but it finally got committed to publication in 1937. 
The 1st movement, Allegro pastorale, is confusingly named as its not particularly pastoral and the theme is a strong, energetic melody that really bustles with energy, especially around the midpoint (the opening always reminds me of La Marseillaise - written almost 100 years earlier). The 2nd movement is an initially tender Adagio, that becomes increasingly symphonic and romantic in nature with its lovely theme and short agitated trio. The 3rd movement, Allegretto scherzando, is childlike, Mozartian and playful but with a slight edginess which develops throughout the movement. This is a skillful piece of writing from Nielsen. The finale, Allegro molto, continues the playfulness and impetus of the 3rd movement but its an interesting one as Nielsen uses his really unique voice that comes somewhere between Grieg and Brahms with some Italian influences (but even that's a poor description) so this finale sounds quite different, too. Anyway, this is a nice quintet and I strongly urge you to give it a try especially if you enjoy Nielsen's quartets (apart from the magnificent 3rd which is a much stronger work than the rest), the string quartets of Cherubini or Brahm's chamber works. There's only a handful of recordings so I'll try to address them below, as usual.

The good news here is that all of the available recordings are at least recommendable (so I'll start with those).
The first ensemble to record the string quintet were the *Telmányi Kvintetten *and this was an important historical release as the ensemble was made up of the violinist Emil Telmanyi, his 2nd wife and 3 children. Importantly Emil's first wife was Anne-Marie Nielsen, the composer's daughter. Telmanyi supposedly learned to play the quartets and quintet from Carl Nielsen himself. Anyway, the late early 60s recorded sound is acceptable if a little wiry but it's well played (obviously a talented family). Interestingly they take the 3rd movement allegretto scherzando at a much broader tempo than the competition (stressing the allegretto) but I prefer the other recordings that take it at more of an Allegro pace.
Also recommendable is the recording by the *Kammerensemble de Paris / Bouveresse*. Its well recorded but slightly let down by its use of vibrato and a rather overtly romantic adagio.
The *Carl Nielsen Quartet / Mortensen*, on their massively OOP DG set are certainly very spirited and engaging but there's some roughness and slackness in ensemble and this recording has been out of the catalogue for some time.
For a better outing the *ASMF Chamber Ensemble *play with technical perfection and consummate ease in a highly recommendable effort on Chandos that doesn't hang about in any movement. The quicker movements are particularly nimble and lilting in this fine recording.

However my top picks for this quintet are even better.
The *Kontra Quartet and Philip Naegale* are fully in tune with proceedings and produce a finely athletic performance of great vibrancy and warmth (its also better/closer recorded than the quartets that accompany it). They're a little languid in the adagio but still convince and elsewhere they're brisk and highly spirited.
The *Danish Quartet, with Tim Frederiksen* taking up the extra viola spot, are caught in a responsive and natural soundstage. It's a performance where textures are layered, vibrato is used wisely, lines are clean and articulation is precise - a highly impressive recording. Whether you prefer this or the Kontra recording is down to you but both are terrific.


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